The new decree is a positive development in the road towards ethical treatment of pets and farm animals in Vietnam.

Phap Luat reports that a new government decree due to take effect starting from April 20 has introduced several levels of fines on acts of animal abuse. Decree No. 14/2021 stipulates different administrative penalties that the Vietnamese government will impose on animal husbandry offenses.

Article 29 of the decree states that an individual who beats and tortures pets or farm animals will be fined VND1–3 million. Organizations and entities, such as slaughterhouses or animal shelters, that commit such acts can be fined VND3–5 million. The punishment also applies to abattoirs that torture or fail to render animals unconscious before slaughtering.

Slaughterhouses are forbidden from putting foreign objects, water or other substances into the body of animals before slaughtering. This offense carries a VND5–50 million fine. 

Animal cruelty is unfortunately prevalent across Vietnam, as many still view animals as possessions. Back in 2018, a petition managed to amass 40,000 signatures from netizens seeking to stop a monkey circus at the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve. The operation was shut down as a result.

The incident was a rare victory in improving animal welfare because it gained enough traction online. Alas, many daily acts of brutality by individual owners usually go unnoticed, and the abused animals often end up being discarded on the street. Still, altruistic Vietnamese have set up volunteer operations like Saigon Time Animal Shelter or Hanoi Pet Rescue to care for and rehome victims.