Civets (Viverridae) are hunted and trapped for human consumption as food or for use in traditional medicine in Africa and Asia (Carder et al., 2016; Wondmagegne et al., 2011; Nijman et al., 2014; Shepherd, 2012; Shepherd & Shepherd, 2010; Jelil et al., 2018; Noutcha et al., 2020). In some African countries, civet gland is believed to cure a range of disease and illness, including headaches, skin diseases and cancer (Taye, 2009) and female infertility (El-Kamali, 2000). In India, the civet gland is an ingredient of the Ayurvedic holistic healing medicines (Balakrishnan & Sreedevi, 2007; Kumara & Singh, 2007). In South-east Asia civets are known to be traded for their meat, body parts, as pets, and for the civet coffee industry (Shepherd & Shepherd, 2010). In Vietnam, the body parts of civets are soaked in traditional Vietnamese rice wine, which is believed to increase male sexual performance (Roberton et al., 2003), and their scent gland are prescribed to women that are having difficulty giving birth, and to people with psychological disorders (Nash, 1997). Civets are also exploited for their meat, and are one of the most commonly consumed wild mammals in Vietnam (Sandalj et al., 2016; Roberton, 2007; Van Song, 2008), China (Cheng, 2007), and Laos (Johnson et al., 2003). In Vietnam, civet meat, like most other wildlife meat and products are consumed as a luxury item, and not for sustenance (Challender et al., 2015; Dang & Nielsen, 2018; Drury, 2009; Drury, 2011; Ingram et al., 2021; Sandalj et al., 2016; Shairp et al., 2016), and while commercial breeding facilities like civet farms represent the illusion of sustainable wild meat production and trade, lack of regulations, inspections, and accurate record keeping may enable wildlife farms in Vietnam to unsustainably harvest animals from the wild to maintain their livestock.
Commercial civet breeding (‘civet farms’) has been used to supply the demand for civet meat, civet coffee and other civet products e.g., scent gland fluids (Wondmagegne et al., 2011; Denver, 2003). Over the last twenty years, the number of wildlife farms has grown in some countries in South-east Asia, including in Vietnam (WCS, 2008). In Indonesia, where civet coffee (referred to as kopi luwak) is popular, civets are reported to be captured from forests to restock these farms (Carder et al., 2016). Civet coffee production is now very industrialised; civets are caged and forced to eat coffee, and wild civets are captured to sustain the farms (Carder et al., 2016). Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is the main species kept in civet farms (Carder et al., 2016; Nijman et al., 2014; Shepherd, 2012), though Masked Palm Civet is also commonly observed, as found in the current study. Globally threatened civet species have been also recorded these farms; at least three Owston’s Civets (Chrotogale owstoni) are known to have gone through civet coffee facilities in Da Lat, Vietnam in 2018 (Willcox et al., 2019). Civet coffee has been produced in Vietnam for nearly a decade, with a kilogramme of civet coffee selling for 40–80 times the price of normal coffee (Nam Giang, 2011). In Vietnam, civet coffee farms are located mainly in the central highlands and in the south (Nam Giang, 2011).
In Vietnam, wildlife farms are regulated under Decree 06/2019/ND-CP and its update Decree 84/2021/ND-CP on wildlife management and Decree 35/2019/ND-CP on administrative violations in forestry. Under Vietnamese law, any species can be commercially farmed provided the origin of the founder stock is legal e.g., from other legal farms, from legally harvested wildlife, or from trade confiscations. Wildlife farms are under management of the Forest Protection Department (FPD) and Vietnam’s CITES Management Authority. The latter provides permits for all CITES Appendix 1 listed species, whilst the former can grant permits for CITES Appendix 2 species, as well as any not listed on CITES. The provincial FPD are mandated to monitor and manage any wildlife farms within their jurisdiction. Civet species listed in Group IB of Decree 06 can be exploited under a license, and the law includes some limited provisions for ensuring a legal origin. Civet species listed in group IIB of the same decree can be commercially exploited if permission from the relevant authority is acquired. Trade-confiscated civets listed in group IIB can be legally auctioned or sold to commercial enterprises, including legal wildlife farms.
There are eight Viverrid species in Vietnam, including the Binturong (Arctictis binturong), Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), Large Indian Civet (Viverra zibetha), Large Spotted Civet (Viverra megaspila), Owston’s Civet (Chrotogale owstoni), Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica), Small-Toothed Palm Civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata), Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata), and the Spotted Linsang (Prionodon pardicolor). Two of the civet species are listed as globally Endangered (EN), one as Vulnerable (VU), and other four are classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, all civet species are probably far below natural population densities in Vietnam, including in protected areas; hunting, particularly the use of snares, is common in the country’s protected areas (Gray et al., 2018) and many of these snares are set to supply demand for the commercial wildlife trade (Belecky and Gray 2020; Gray et al. 2018; Gray et al. 2021)
There has been no published research on the civet farming industry in Vietnam and its potential impacts on wild civet populations. Furthermore, several civet coffee-producing areas in Vietnam are in close proximity to important populations of Owston’s Civets, an Annamite Mountain endemic which are rapidly approaching extinction. This research focused on (1) the status of civet farming in southern Vietnam and (2) the trade dynamics of these civet farms so that its impacts on wild civet populations could be assessed.