Authorities in Dalat City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong last week seized more than 100 wild animals from 27 restaurants citywide to return to the wild.
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These animals include bamboo rats, doves, varans, jungle cocks, snakes, monkeys and weasels.
All of the animals are in good health.
In the raids, the city also confiscated 88 kg of frozen meat of wild animals.
According to a report by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Vietnam (WCS), over 84 percent of restaurants in Dalat serve food made from wild animals.
WCS said current penalties for these violators were still too mild to prevent further violations.
WCS urged Da Lat authorities to take stronger actions such as revoking business licenses.Lam Dong and two neighboring provinces, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai, share the 72,000 –hectare Cat Tien National Park which is the habitat of nearly 200 animals named as endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
