Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center:

Located in the mountainous area of ​​Soc Son commune, the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center has become a “safe home” for thousands of animals that have been illegally traded, hunted or kept in captivity for many years. From rescue, care, conservation to release back into the wild, the center not only preserves the life of the green forest, but also makes an important contribution to the efforts to conserve biodiversity in the capital and the whole country.

Bear care at the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center.

Wildlife Resurrection

Established and directly under the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center is located in Soc Son commune. This is the focal point for receiving, caring for, conserving and releasing wild animals confiscated by authorities or voluntarily handed over by people. According to the report, in the first 6 months of 2025, rescue activities at the center were bustling and urgent. The unit received 32 cases with 274 wild animals. Many of these animals are rare and endangered species listed in Appendix I, Group IB, IIB of Decree No. 84/2021/ND-CP such as tigers, bears, white-cheeked gibbons, peacocks, hornbills, etc.

In parallel with the reception work, the center also implements disease prevention and timely treatment. In the first 6 months of 2025, the center conducted 11 disease prevention sessions for 1,191 individuals and 66 treatment sessions for 850 animals with digestive, respiratory, and fungal skin diseases. Thanks to that, many individuals were saved, restored to health, and prepared for the journey back to nature.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center, Ta Duy Long, said that each individual wild animal brought back is a precious life. Rescuing and caring for them is not only a professional task, but also a responsibility to the ecosystem and future generations. In addition to the technical staff, many volunteers and international conservation organizations also accompany the center. Training courses on veterinary medicine, rescue skills and animal welfare are regularly organized, improving the qualifications of staff and contributing to ensuring the quality of conservation work.

The highlight of the activities of the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center is the re-release process, helping animals return to their original habitat. In the first half of 2025, the center re-released 164 individuals and 4.3 kg of snakes to Huong Son Special-Use Forest (Hanoi City) and Xuan Lien Nature Reserve ( Thanh Hoa Province). In addition, 12 other individuals were transferred to Xuan Lien to continue to restore their biological habits before re-release.

“Release is not only a “humane act” for wildlife, but also has scientific and ecological significance, contributing to maintaining natural balance, supplementing rare gene sources, and gradually restoring populations that are at risk of decline. Many species of birds and reptiles, after re-release, quickly adapted and reproduced naturally, contributing to enriching the forest ecosystem,” Mr. Ta Duy Long informed.

In addition to professional activities, the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center also cooperates with organizations such as: Save Vietnam's Wildlife, Four Paws Vietnam, Asian Turtle Conservation Program... Many international experts come to directly support, advise on animal welfare, share management and post-release monitoring experiences. These are important factors to help improve the effectiveness of rescue and conservation at the international level.

Not only stopping at care, the center also actively communicates and coordinates with forest rangers, police, and customs to prevent the trafficking and transportation of wild animals. Community propaganda campaigns are organized periodically, calling on people not to keep or consume wild animal products, and at the same time encouraging voluntary handover of captive animals.

Join hands to preserve biodiversity

To date, the center is caring for and conserving 556 animals and 73.9kg of snakes. This is an impressive number, showing the huge amount of work that the staff are doing. However, the pressure on barn space, infrastructure and human resources is still high. The center is often overloaded, affecting animal welfare as well as care efficiency.

Faced with these challenges, the Center's Board of Directors has identified the task for the last 6 months of 2025 as continuing to accelerate the project to expand rescue infrastructure; strengthening domestic and international cooperation on conservation; focusing on scientific research, applying technology in veterinary medicine, management and improving community communication on wildlife protection.

Director of the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center Luong Xuan Hong shared: “Biodiversity conservation cannot be the responsibility of just one unit. We really need the cooperation of the community, the support of the government and the cooperation of domestic and foreign scientific organizations. Only then will the journey of returning freedom to wildlife be truly sustainable.”

In fact, community awareness has changed a lot. Many people voluntarily handed over illegally raised animals to the authorities. This is a positive signal, affirming that the communication work and spreading the message "protecting nature is protecting our own lives" has initially shown effectiveness.

In the context of climate change, biodiversity loss and complicated illegal hunting and trading, the role of the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center becomes more and more important. Each individual saved, each species preserved is a valuable link to maintain ecological balance. That silent but meaningful journey has been and is contributing to affirming: Hanoi is not only a cultural capital, but also a green city, where people and nature live together in harmony and sustainability...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/trung-tam-cuu-ho-dong-vat-hoang-da-ha-no-luc-bao-ton-da-dang-sinh-hoc-715267.html