The head of a forest ranger unit in the central province of Nghe An said he had summoned a man for questioning who shared photos of how he slaughtered monkeys on Facebook.
Chu Van Cuong shows off while killing a monkey on Facebook
Le Ngoc Huu, head of Hoang Mai Commune Forest Ranger Unit, said they did not have enough evidence for a house search warrant. He said, "We are working with the police to verify the information and we have summoned Chu Van Cuong for questioning. Any crimes will be prosecuted."
On January 2, Chu Van Cuong posted a number of photos on his Facebook, showing how a monkey was killed and flayed so that they can make glue out of monkey bone which he ludicrously claimed to have the ability to cure many illnesses.
According to the Education for Nature Organisation, Cuong is one of the links in the illegal wild life trade and process ring in Nam Son Village, Hoang Mai Commune.
Nguyen Phuong Dung, deputy head of Education for Nature, said, "Such actions seriously violated Vietnam's laws on wildlife protection and show how inhumane some people are. The authorities must investigate this case and hand out strict punishment."
Monkeys are a precious species listed in the Vietnam Red Book of endangered species. Monkey are protected from being hunted, traded and illegally caged. Violators can be fined up to VND500m (USD23,800) for individuals and VND1bn for an organisation. People who hunt and trade large numbers of monkeys can face a potential 12-year jail term