Hundreds of people reportedly joined the rescue campaign, including the expert from Thao Cam Vien Zoological Park from HCM City. However, the bull still died on the afternoon of July 24, though it was very strong before when entering the airport.
Explaining the death of the bull, the representatives from competent agencies said that it died of organ bruising, with congestion found in lung, trachea. The heart had bleeding, while liver, bile were swelling, and the small intestine and colon were bleeding.
The agencies said that this is a wildlife which is very sensitive to the living environment. It strayed from the herd and had to live many days in unreasonable habitat, therefore, its health got seriously worse.
However, the explanation did not satisfy the public. It was a big and strong bull, weighing 1.2 tons, therefore, the statement that it died because of objective causes has raised doubts. Was it dead because it got exhausted before, or because of the tens of anesthetic injections?
Prior to that, on July 5 and 21, fishermen in An Giang province caught two Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas Chevey) weighing 71 kilos and 86 kilos, respectively.
The two fish were then sold to Huynh Thanh Hong, a man in Khanh An commune of An Phu district at 27 million dong.
However, the first fish, weighing 71 kilos, died after three days of receiving care, before the group of officers from the An Giang provincial relevant agencies came to take it away to the breeder farm.
Hong then learned lesson from the case, and he decided to report to the Fisheries Sub-department and bring the other fish to the sub-department, where it could receive a special treatment. However, the fish could not live in the oxygenated tank with some mechanical substances at the sub-department.
Also in An Giang province, in 2009, two individuals of a car species - Felis viverrina – were killed by local people. The other two were sold to some people who keep them for ornaments. In recent days, a lot of wildlife species also reportedly died before relevant agencies began taking part in the case.
Rescuing wildlife – it’s all a lottery
Tran Anh Dung, Head of the An Giang Fisheries Sub-department, on July 25 affirmed that Mekong giant catfish is a rare and precious species of animals, listed in the Vietnam’s Red Book.
However, the wildlife rescue has not been implemented in a professional and scientific way. Rescue men just try to save the life of the animals the way they thought was the best one.
Dung said it’s necessary to set up a rescue center which can meet set standards. Meanwhile, at present, the budget allocated to the protection of wildlife species and the officers who serve the fish conservation remain unprofessional enough.
“We now just work with the experiences and the knowledge of the officers, trained for aquatic cultivation,” Dung said.
“Therefore, it would be better if local residents leave the rare animals to the natural environment like in the neighboring countries such as Laos, Thailand or Cambodia,” he added.
However, he admitted that it’s would be a difficult task in Vietnam.
Thu Uyen (vietnamnet.vn)
