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A risky trend of having wildlife pets have become more popular, particularly among young people in Vietnam in recent years, said Nguyen Thu Thuy from the\u00a0Asian Turtle Program\u00a0(ATP) at a workshop held virtually on September 28.<\/p>\nA risky trend of having wildlife pets have become more popular, particularly among young people in Vietnam in recent years, said Nguyen Thu Thuy from the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) at a workshop held virtually on September 28.<\/p>\n
A risky trend of having wildlife pets have become more popular, particularly among young people in Vietnam in recent years, said Nguyen Thu Thuy from the\u00a0Asian Turtle Program\u00a0(ATP) at a workshop held virtually on September 28.<\/p>\n
Co-organised by the ATP, People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature), and\u00a0Animals Asia\u00a0Foundation (AAF), the event aimed to prevent the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.<\/p>\n
Discussion among participating experts revolved around such key issues as related health risks, legal aspects, wildlife conservation, and animal welfare.<\/p>\n
Assessing effects of the trend, Thuy said many risks for not only the animals and their keepers but also the ecological environment have been warned.<\/p>\n
In fact, more than 70 percent of emerging dangerous infectious diseases in humans are of animal origin. Not to mention, in fact, some wild animals attack people, causing unpredictable injuries.<\/p>\n
From the animal welfare perspective, Nguyen Tam Thanh, a representative of the AAF, noted that demand for\u00a0wildlife pets\u00a0will drive the need to hunt and trade these species, reducing their numbers and even pushing them to the edge of extinction.<\/p>\n
Captivity is likely to put the animals at risk due to differences in nutrition, living conditions, and psychological factors, among others, he added.<\/p>\n
Experts took the occasion to put forth a series of solutions to curb the illegal activity, including building a clear legal framework, boosting relevant management, and building policies based on domestic and international data. Cooperation and communications activities are also necessary, they said.<\/p>\n
They noted there is a need for stronger communications about the transmission of viruses and drug resistance from wild animals to humans on TV and social networks.<\/p>\n