In a strange but true story, a man in Binh Duong Province was given an award for being an outstanding farmer only three months after he was fined US$14,400 for illegally raising wildlife in captivity at his farm.

>> Endangered wildlife found in officials’ farms

The honored man is 56-year-old Nguyen Van Long, a farmer in the province’s Ben Luc District. Long was among 62 farmers nationwide who were given the title “2013 Outstanding Farmer” by the Vietnam Farmers’ Association (VFA) in a ceremony held in Hanoi on October 15, 2013.

The selection of qualified candidates for the title was carried out under the direction of the VFA and the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee for Propaganda and Education. 

After receiving their title, the honorees attended an exchange session titled “The Pride of Vietnamese Farmers” organized the same day by the two agencies to mark the 83th anniversary of the establishment of VFA.

Four selection rounds After being nominated by the Ben Cat District Farmers’ Association as a potential candidate for the title, Long and another candidate from another district were accepted by the provincial Farmers’ Association, which later submitted a report on the two candidates to the local government for approval. In early September, the People’s Committee approved the report and referred the two candidates to the Central Selection Council to decided who would represent Binh Duong. The council finally selected Long, along with 61 others from other provinces and cities, for the title. The title winners were given a free flight to Hanoi to receive the award and go on sightseeing tours to different locations in the northern region, also free of charge. Under the selection criteria, besides impressive agricultural production and technical innovation, candidates had to “comply with all laws and regulations by the Party and State.” However, most people did not know that Long was caught raising wildlife illegally only three months before.

Lawbreaking

On July 3 a joint inspection team conducted an unscheduled examination on his farm in Lai Uyen Commune, Ben Cat District, and found six gibbons belonging to Group IB, which includes endangered and critically endangered species, held in cages.   

Exploitation and use of these species for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited, and a permit is required for scientific research and conservation purposes, inspectors said.

The team reported and seized the six live gibbons, as well as a live peacock and a taxidermied gibbon.

These gibbons include one of the species Hylobates pileatus, which can be imported only when a license from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is obtained, said Dr Hoang Minh Duc, deputy head of the Southern Ecological Institute.

On August 8 the provincial People’s Committee fined Long VND300 million ($14,400) and confiscated all the wild animals he had illegally raised.Explanation In speaking with Tuoi Tre about his title, Long said he had not volunteered to be a candidate for the title but rather had been nominated for it by the provincial Farmers’ Association. Nguyen Minh Luan, deputy chairman of the Association, told the newspaper that Long had been nominated as he had many initiatives to improve agricultural machinery. Meanwhile, Huynh Van Nhi, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, admitted that the authorities had been aware of Long’s lawbreaking but still chose him to be one of the two candidates of the province. Nhi explained that “this is no problem, since Long’s violation had been already penalized by concerned agencies.” In addition, the decision of penalty was issued not to Long, but to his wife, Nguyen Thi Diep Hong, Nhi added. As far as Tuoi Tre knows, Hong alone was named in the decision since Long was absent at the time of inspection at his house. For the time being, the question of whether Long will have his title revoked has not yet been decided, Vu Quynh Huong, a representative of Nong Thon Ngay Nay  (Countryside Today) newspaper and a member of the selection council for the above title told Tuoi Tre on November 8. Long’s lawbreaking act was mentioned only after he had been given the title, Huong said, adding that based on the contents shown in his record submitted to the selection council, he met all the criteria for the title.