According to ENV, Vietnam is among 25 countries that are home to the largest number of wild birds. However, they are being hunted for food in many areas in the country, threatening their population. Storks and other large-size water birds have been those that are mostly sought by hunters.

A study by ENV at 125 restaurants in Hanoi and 124 others in HCM City between 2020 and June 2024 showed that 42 percent, and 24 percent of them, respectively, had wild bird dishes on their menus.

In 2023 alone, ENV reported over 1,000 illegal trading cases with 163,185 wild birds being sold online.

ENV deputy director, Bui Thi Ha has urged local localities to build strategies to curb the rampant hunting and trading of wild birds.

"No species of bird can develop with such large-scale hunting and trading activities," Ha said. "Local authorities should issue stricter fines to deal with these problems."

ENV also calls on the public to protect wild birds and call the free hotline 1800-1522 to report any illegal hunting and trading cases.