Vietnam has come under fire for its ‘passive approach’ to sharing crucial evidence that could help South African forensic experts trace the exact origin of horns smuggled illegally to the Southeast Asian nation recognised as a primary driver of the rhino poaching crisis.
The issue is due to be interrogated further in Switzerland next month (February) at a committee meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – a global agreement among governments to regulate or ban international trade in wildlife species under threat.
Phrased in the polite language of international diplomacy, the criticism is contained in an official report dated 16 January 2025 by the Geneva-based CITES Secretariat on Vietnam’s apparent reluctance to share DNA samples of smuggled horns with South Africa – the country with the largest remaining populations of rhinos in the world, albeit decimated by a relentless wave of poaching over recent decades.
A wildlife vet removes the horn from a white rhino in KwaZulu-Natal to deter poachers. (Photo: Tony Carnie)
While the secretariat has not spelt out the exact reasons for its concerns, the backstory is that several conservation officials fear that Vietnam may be trying to shield some of its influential officials and nationals from international scrutiny or prosecution.
Embassy personnel
Several Vietnamese officials were linked to horn smuggling from South Africa in a special report published by TRAFFIC, a UK-based wildlife trade monitoring network, in 2012. According to that report the Vietnam Embassy in Pretoria “has been repeatedly implicated in illicit rhino horn trade”.
TRAFFIC reported that the involvement of embassy personnel first came to light when Commercial Attaché Khanh Toan Nguyen was arrested in April 2006 with two rhino horns, as well as diamonds and large sums of cash. He was allegedly “recalled and disciplined” after initially invoking diplomatic immunity.
“The most sensational and public case, however, involved Vu Moc Anh, the Embassy’s First Secretary, who was filmed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s 50/50, a weekly investigative journalism programme, apparently conducting a rhino horn transaction in front of the Vietnam Embassy in Pretoria in September 2008,” TRAFFIC said.
While many of these cases happened more than a decade ago, CITES remains concerned about Vietnam’s status as a key destination for illicit horns and has adopted several resolutions and decisions to clamp down on the illegal trade – including new provisions to share samples of seized rhino horns for forensic analysis.
‘Primary destination’
According to the latest report, the CITES standing committee concluded that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam “remains one of the primary destination countries for illegal ivory and rhino horn consignments”, despite that country’s self-reported actions to curb the smuggling.
While Vietnam had stated that it was willing to exchange samples of seized horns with South Africa “upon request”, CITES officials say that this stance “remains of concern”.
“It seems that Vietnam is taking a passive approach on this important matter and the Secretariat again encourages (Vietnam) to review its implementation of (rhino horn smuggling control measures) and to actively reach out to South Africa and pursue collaboration regarding the sharing of samples from seized rhinoceros horn specimens.
Some of the rhino horns seized in June 2022 at Hamad International Airport, Qatar. The horns include remnant stumps from dehorned rhinos. (Photos: Qatar Government report to CITES)
“The Secretariat noted with concern that, although rhinoceros horn seizures were made in Vietnam, that government had indicated that there was no record of seizures that involved rhinoceros specimens originating from South Africa during the period from 2022 to October 2023 and therefore no exchange of samples has taken place during that period.
However, the Secretariat pointed out to Vietnam that the majority of rhinoceros horns found in illegal global trade originate from South Africa because it has the largest rhino population in the world.
“The Secretariat further highlighted that although these horns may originate from South Africa, criminal networks often export them from other countries in Africa to avoid detection.”
Angola, for example, has emerged recently as a growing transit point to smuggle South African horns to both Vietnam and China – with Qatar, the UAR or Malaysia also seen as transit routes.
The CITES secretariat has now further “encouraged” Vietnam to share samples of seized rhino horns with South Africa’s Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS) which stores rhinoceros DNA profiles from multiple African countries in a single continental database.
“RhODIS enables the comparison of DNA samples collected from seized rhino horns and crime scenes against thousands of DNA profiles and has assisted in successful prosecutions in Eswatini, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa.”
When Daily Maverick contacted a senior South African wildlife trade official to explain the background to the latest CITES report, he responded: “So, what’s new?”
“It has always been a struggle to get any information out of Vietnam… Is this just politics and bureaucracy – or are they protecting some of their nationals and officials?” said the source, who declined to be identified because of previous engagements with Vietnamese officials on this issue.
A second senior official familiar with the issue suggested that there “are some weird things happening”, before clamming up and declining to comment further or be identified, citing diplomatic sensitivities.
What the Vietnamese government says
According to the CITES standing committee, Vietnam was invited to provide further information on the DNA horn sampling issue in June last year.
In response, the Vietnamese government wrote back to CITES to confirm that it had consulted relevant officials, including its state law enforcement agencies to provide further information on this question.
“Viet Nam was in a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with South Africa, with a joint action to exchange rhinoceros samples where it is relevant. During the period 2022-July 2024, there is no record of seizures in rhinoceros specimen originated from South Africa, therefore, no exchange of samples had happened,” the government stated.
“Although there is no evidence or indication that rhino horn samples from the cases originated from South Africa, Viet Nam is willing to exchange rhino horn DNA samples with South Africa upon request from South Africa.”
The Vietnamese authorities further stated that its designated scientific authority collected DNA samples regularly from seized horn samples, noting that there had been 10 such cases in 2021, 12 cases in 2022 and five cases in 2023.
“Overall, the enforcement efforts by Vietnam should be recognised and applauded, although challenges remain given the lack of resources, information exchange from foreign countries, international support and facilitation.”
Prosecutions
It stated that between 2023 and September 2024, a further eight rhino horn suspects had been prosecuted. However, only two of these cases involved illegal imports and the remaining majority involved domestic trade, transportation or online sales.
Between 2023 and mid 2024 the People’s Courts in Vietnam had prosecuted 10 suspects, some of whom were jailed for up to 13 years.
For example, the People’s Court of Da Nang City sentenced Nguyen Duc Tai to 13 years in prison in March 2023 for illegally importing 138kg of rhino horn and 456.9kg of ivory at Tien Sa port during July 2021.
Vietnam reported that it currently holds just over 315kg (162 pieces) of rhino horn in its national stockpile – stored in a warehouse with two-layer iron doors with a 24-hour camera surveillance system. The total quantity of horns in this stockpile had remained unchanged since 2019.
Rhino horns and elephant tusks are burnt in Da Nang City, Vietnam, in December 2023. (Photo: Vietnam Government report to CITES)
However, several horns had been burnt in a series of recent “destruction events”. This included the destruction of 28kg of horns in Can Tho City in June 2021 and a further 138kg of horns in Da Nang City in December 2023.
It was further considering proposing to the prime minister to destroy all rhino horns and pangolin scales held in the national stockpile during 2025.
- In its report to CITES, South Africa makes no explicit mention of Vietnam’s apparent reluctance to share rhino DNA samples for forensic analysis, but does note that former Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (Maggie Sotyu) held a bilateral meeting in Hanoi with the Deputy Minister of Public Security of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in December 2023.
“During the meeting, the two Deputy Ministers acknowledged the positive relationship between their respective countries and engaged in discussions concerning biodiversity protection, combatting wildlife trafficking and wildlife crime, and enhancing cooperation in these areas.
“They also reviewed the status of various agreements aimed at addressing these issues. It was emphasised that wildlife crime, particularly the international trafficking of rhino horn, remains a significant concern for South Africa. Cooperation with Vietnamese authorities was underscored as crucial in addressing this issue effectively.“
South Africa reported that a further engagement between the deputy minister of public security (Vietnam) and the deputy minister of police (South Africa) took place in South Africa in February 2024.
“The two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in addressing the challenges posed by international wildlife trafficking and wildlife crime through enhanced collaboration between the various law enforcement agencies,” the report concludes. DM
Original source: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-22-vietnam-chided-over-poached-rhino-horn-secrecy-by-global-wildlife-trade-regulator/?dm_source=dm_block_list&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=our-burning-planet&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=obp_newsletter
