Vietnam plans to auction six tons of elephant tusks smuggled to the country from Tanzania. The ivory was seized by Vietnamese custom officials. Initially the Tanzania government did nothing about the issue but no plans to take action. It is believed that the tusks were enroute to China.

ThisDay

“Every day Y Thoan Nie drives an elephant slowly around the villages of Dak Lak Province in the central highlands.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“A herd of 40 elephants over the past few days destroyed over 30 hectares of crops in Ea R’loi and Ea Lop Village in the Central Highlands province of Dac Lac.” – Viet Nam News

” The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is the sole location in Vietnam where there remains the tradition of maintaining herds of tame elephants in its districts of Buon Don, Lac, Ea Sup, and Krong Nang. However, the population of tame elephants is sharply falling.” – VietNamNet

“Visitors to the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak should make a side stop to Buon Don (Don Village), famous for its natural beauty and legends of wild elephants.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“The offender, Vu Thanh Thiem, who was caught in the process of admixing the bones to create a type of medicinal glue, said the 231 kilograms of bones came from his younger brother Vu Thanh Tue who had purchased a dead circus elephant.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“Three wild elephants that escaped from Vu Quang national park have been causing concern among hundreds of households in the two communes of Huong Dien and Huong Quang in the central province of Ha Tinh.” – Viet Nam News

“Located between two branches of the Serepok River in the province of Dak Lak, the villagers of Buon Don, also called Ban Don, have per-formed numerous elephant weddings.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“Authorities in a northern Vietnamese province are seeking government permission to shoot a domesticated elephant that has killed two handlers this year, an official said Wednesday. The Forestry Department of Thanh Hoa province sent a request to the Ministry of Agriculture last week asking for the go-ahead to kill the rare Asian elephant, which is more than 30 years old, according to Le Quoc Viet with the department.” – Earth Times

“Quang Nam Central Province?s People?s Committee has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to approve a plan on the establishment of two new elephant and Sao La deer (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) preservation zones.” – Nhan Dan

“The People?s Committee of Dak Lak Province in the central highlands has approved a VND8.5 billion (US$528,500) project to preserve domesticated elephants in the region.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“However, since 2001, tourism activities in Gia Lai have come to a standstill for many reasons and elephant tours no longer exist.” – VietNamNet Bridge

“A herd of over 20 elephants has been destroying large tracts of paddy and corn fields in Daklak province in Vietnam?s central highlands with authorities unable to find a way to chase the animals away.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“The central province of Nghe An has taken measures to protect wild elephants and ensure safety for local people and their properties that are threatened by the big animals.” – Nhan Dan

“Deforestation and owners? callousness have taken a toll on elephant populations both in the wild and in captivity in Vietnam?s central highlands, sending the giant animals to the brink of extinction.” -Thanh Nien Daily

“An elephant in northern Vietnam has killed two handlers who had worked with the animal for almost 20 years, a local official said Monday.” – France 24

“International performance troupes and ethnic minority groups from Vietnam will participate in The Central Highlands Gong Culture Festival in a village famous for its domesticated elephants this October.” – Thanh Nien Daily

“A working elephant beat its owner to death with its trunk in a forest in Vietnam’s remote Central Highlands.” – Sun2Surf