Vietnam Confronts Dog Meat and Wildlife Trade With Local Bans, Tougher Laws and Public Campaigns

Hoi An Sets a Local Example as Vietnam Tackles Animal Trade

Hoi An has become the first city in Vietnam to officially ban the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat, putting a local government at the forefront of efforts to change eating habits, protect animals and reduce disease risks. Its initiative with the animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS combines vaccination programmes, public education and enforcement of animal protection laws.

The move comes as Vietnam confronts overlapping concerns about animal welfare, public health and the survival of its wildlife. Illegal hunting, trading and consumption threaten species across the country's forests, rivers and mountains. The dog meat trade brings concerns about cruelty, stolen pets and rabies, while demand for wild animals places further pressure on biodiversity.

Surveys by FOUR PAWS indicate that around 6% of Vietnamese people regularly consume dog or cat meat, while a vast majority support banning the trade. Those findings place the debate in perspective: regular consumption involves a small share of the population, even as the practice remains a difficult issue for communities and authorities to address.

Vietnam's response includes criminal penalties, local restrictions, school activities, restaurant commitments and campaigns encouraging people to stop buying wildlife products. Hoi An's approach brings several of those measures together in one city.

The challenge is to turn changing attitudes into lasting changes in behaviour. Public campaigns have encouraged people to stop eating dog meat and using wildlife products, yet illegal hunting and trading continue. For communities involved in the trade, protecting animals also requires practical alternatives to income earned through hunting or selling them.

What Vietnam Loses When Wildlife Disappears

Vietnam supports thousands of animal species, making the protection of its natural habitats a matter of national importance. Its forests provide more than scenery: they help regulate the climate, purify water and support the livelihoods of millions of people.

Wildlife helps keep those environments functioning. Animals are part of food chains, with different species depending on one another for food and survival. When deer or civets disappear from a forest, those relationships can be disrupted, reducing biodiversity and affecting the communities that depend on the same environment.

Biodiversity means the variety of living things in a place. Losing even one species can leave a gap in an ecosystem, with consequences that extend beyond the animal itself. The effects can reach people through changes to the natural resources on which their lives depend.

Scientific research cited in the debate over wildlife protection indicates that many species in Vietnam have already become extinct or are close to extinction because of excessive exploitation for food, medicine or ornamental purposes. Illegal hunting and consumption of endangered species add to that pressure.

Why Attitudes Toward Dog Meat Are Changing

Dog meat has a long history as a food in parts of Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia. Some people have traditionally treated it as a delicacy or something to eat on special occasions. That history now sits alongside growing domestic and international scrutiny of how animals are obtained, transported and killed.

Younger people and urban residents are increasingly viewing dogs and cats as companion animals. Rising pet ownership and the influence of international animal welfare standards have helped change public attitudes, contributing to a wider movement against the trade.

Animal theft gives the issue a direct personal impact for pet owners. Cruelty in the trade and the risk of diseases such as rabies add further reasons for concern. Rabies is a disease that can pass from infected animals to people, making animal health part of the public health discussion.

FOUR PAWS' survey findings suggest that regular consumption and public support for the trade are very different questions. Around 6% regularly consume dog or cat meat, while a vast majority support a ban. Campaigners are seeking to turn that support into changes in purchasing habits and government policy.

How Hoi An Combines Animal Welfare and Public Health

Hoi An's initiative links its ban on the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat with measures intended to improve animal welfare and prevent disease outbreaks. The partnership with FOUR PAWS also aims to strengthen the city's reputation as a safe and friendly destination for tourists.

Vaccination programmes address animal health, while public education seeks to change behaviour. Enforcement of animal protection laws gives the initiative a practical role beyond encouraging people to reconsider what they eat.

The city offers an example of how local authorities can influence social norms. A municipal government can bring public health measures, communication campaigns and enforcement into the same programme, making animal protection part of its everyday responsibilities.

Hoi An's example has encouraged other regions to consider similar measures. Its approach is part of a broader shift in which companion animal welfare is increasingly connected to public health and the way cities present themselves to visitors.

Demand for Wildlife Extends Beyond Food

Vietnam is both a biodiversity hotspot and a major transit and consumption point for wildlife products. Animals and their parts are sought for meals, traditional medicinal uses and ornamental purposes, creating several sources of demand for hunters and traders.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, known as WWF, identifies beliefs about health benefits, social status and culinary curiosity as major drivers of wildlife consumption. Some consumers regard wild meat as a luxury, while others believe wildlife products have medicinal properties despite a lack of scientific evidence for those beliefs.

Domestic and international tourists also contribute to demand. Studies describe some tourists consuming wild animal meat and products several times a year. That makes tourism relevant to efforts to reduce consumption, alongside campaigns directed at residents.

Demand for rare animals puts pressure on species already vulnerable to extinction. Efforts to protect them therefore involve both the people supplying the products and those willing to buy them. A restaurant meal, a medicinal purchase or an ornamental item can each sustain a market for wildlife.

Animal Trade Creates Risks for Human Health

Wildlife consumption also raises concern about zoonotic diseases. These are illnesses that can pass from animals to humans. Hunting, trading and consuming wild animals can bring people into close contact with animals and the diseases they may carry.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the dangers associated with close contact with wild animals and the need for tighter controls on wildlife markets. In Vietnam, authorities and nongovernmental organisations have run campaigns to explain those risks and encourage changes in behaviour.

Public health concerns connect the debate over wildlife markets with the debate over dog meat, although the activities involve different animals and conservation issues. Rabies is a concern associated with the dog meat trade, while wildlife campaigns address the wider risk of diseases passing between animals and people.

Campaigns also promote alternative livelihoods for communities that depend on hunting or trading wildlife. For those households, a request to stop participating in the trade is also a question about how they will earn a living.

Prison Terms Exist, but Enforcement Remains Difficult

Vietnam has strengthened its legal framework for wildlife protection through measures including Decree 35/2019, amended by Decree 07/2022, and Articles 234 and 244 of the Penal Code. The framework provides severe penalties for offences involving wildlife and endangered species, including prison sentences of up to 15 years for serious offences.

Those laws address illegal hunting, trading and consumption, but enforcement continues to face pressure from high demand, weak monitoring and corruption. Illegal activity can persist even where formal penalties are substantial.

Unclear definitions of protected species and inadequate procedures for handling confiscated animals can also make prosecutions more difficult. Identifying which protections apply and deciding what happens to seized animals are practical parts of enforcing wildlife law.

Legal reform therefore needs to work alongside stronger enforcement and community involvement. Authorities need to pursue offenders, while communities need reasons and opportunities to stop participating in activities that threaten wildlife.

Investigative journalism has documented continued illegal hunting and trading despite prominent public campaigns. Sales of protected species on social media create another monitoring challenge, extending the trade into spaces beyond physical markets and restaurants.

Thua Thien Hue Puts Obligations on Officials and Restaurants

Thua Thien Hue has introduced stricter local measures, including a ban on government officials consuming wild animal meat. Restaurants have also been required to sign commitments that they will not sell such products.

Violations can bring disciplinary action, including dismissal, as well as criminal prosecution. The measures place responsibilities on public officials and food businesses, two groups whose conduct can influence the availability and social acceptance of wildlife consumption.

Combined with public education, these policies have been associated with a substantial increase in the number of wild animals voluntarily surrendered to authorities. The account gives no figure for that increase.

Voluntary surrender offers a different route from seizure and prosecution. It allows people to give up animals they hold, while enforcement measures address those who continue prohibited activities. Both approaches form part of the province's effort to reduce wildlife consumption.

Campaigns Reach Families, Students and Consumers

Education for Nature–Vietnam, known as ENV, and FOUR PAWS have used events, educational materials and celebrity participation to encourage people to reject wildlife consumption. Their work seeks to reduce demand before another animal is hunted, traded or purchased.

ENV's Action for Wildlife project asks people to pledge that they will not use or buy wild animals or keep them as pets. The campaign addresses several forms of consumption, rather than focusing only on what people eat.

Art contests for students and public exhibitions take the message to different audiences. Such activities have helped persuade individuals and families to stop eating dog meat or using wildlife products after learning about the consequences.

Young people play a growing role in advocating for animal welfare and environmental protection. Their influence can reach parents, relatives and neighbours, helping communities reconsider habits that have existed for many years.

Awareness campaigns still need practical support. People who decide against buying wildlife products can reduce demand, while officials, businesses and communities have different responsibilities in stopping illegal sales and protecting animals already in trade.

Local Progress Depends on Wider Cooperation

Vietnam's efforts are part of regional and international work against wildlife crime. WWF and WildAid support local initiatives and provide technical assistance connected to law enforcement, public health and sustainable development.

Cooperation across borders is needed to disrupt trafficking networks and protect migratory species. Vietnam's role as a transit point means that action within the country is connected to what happens elsewhere along wildlife trading routes.

Progress includes declining dog meat consumption, the emergence of animal welfare initiatives such as Hoi An's and a growing number of wildlife rescue centres. Persistent demand, limited enforcement resources and the need for alternative livelihoods remain major challenges.

The response brings together several tasks: closing legal gaps, prosecuting offenders, widening public education, supporting rural livelihoods and sharing information internationally. Each addresses a different part of the trade, from the purchase that creates demand to the networks that supply animals.

For Vietnam, protecting wildlife means preserving its natural heritage while safeguarding public health and the resources communities depend on. Hoi An's initiative and Thua Thien Hue's restrictions show how local action can contribute to that wider effort, alongside national laws and changes in consumer behaviour.

Key Points

• Hoi An has banned the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat through an initiative involving FOUR PAWS, vaccination, education and enforcement.
• FOUR PAWS surveys indicate that around 6% of Vietnamese people regularly consume dog or cat meat, while a vast majority support banning the trade.
• Demand for wildlife for food, medicine and ornamental purposes threatens species and creates public health risks.
• Vietnam's wildlife protection framework includes prison sentences of up to 15 years for serious offences.
• Thua Thien Hue has restricted wildlife consumption by officials and required restaurant commitments against selling wildlife products.
• Education, stronger enforcement, alternative livelihoods and international cooperation are central to reducing the trade.