Ho Chi Minh City, May 22, 2020 – In the framework of “The Host” campaign held by CHANGE and WildAid, in response to the Prime Minister’s guidance on issuing a Directive on banning the trade in and consumption of wildlife, some prominent business leaders in Vietnam have signed the “Pledge for Wildlife”, and established the “Business Coalition for Wildlife” to show support for the campaign. The business leaders have also called upon businesses across the country to take action to end the illegal wildlife trade, through the website https://pledge4wildlife.org/
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused severe loss of lives and devastated economies around the world, this wave of calling for a complete end to global wildlife trade to reduce the risk of transmission of zoonotic viruses is strongly increasing. With the message of “Stop wildlife trade and consumption to help prevent the next pandemic”, business leaders expect to act together to:
- Call on the Vietnamese Government to swiftly outlaw all commercial trade, breeding, and consumption of wildlife.
- Pledge to change our behavior and agree to add our names to a pledge not to trade, breed, or consume wildlife.
Dominic Scriven, OBE, Chairman of Dragon Capital commented: “Wildlife trafficking and breeding are related to biodiversity loss. The lessons from the deadly COVID-19 crisis remind us of the link between human well-being and a resilient ecosystem. Together, we call on the Vietnamese government, business community, and other stakeholders to take urgent action to support an effective wildlife trade ban, in order to mitigate the risks to human health. Action to stop biodiversity loss may prevent the next pandemic.”
Sharing his views when signing the pledge, Mr. Tran Trong Kien, Chairman and CEO of Thien Minh Group shared: “COVID-19 is not only a health crisis but also an economic, social and humanitarian crisis. Vietnam has been very successful in preventing and controlling the disease over the past period, but the damage caused by COVID-19 to many important economic sectors in Vietnam, such as tourism, still has not been fully calculated. I hope the Coalition will mobilize many business people and businesses to commit and completely boycott wildlife consumption, to protect public health, and at the same time help Vietnam gain credibility with the international community with the hope that Vietnam will welcome more foreign tourists as well as investors after the pandemic”.
“The Host” campaign has received financial support from the Pangolin Crisis Fund, and enthusiastic support of strategic media partners Chicilon Media and Vietnam Television, and other close media partners Target Media, Movad, and WE Media.