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Quickly moving chickens from a Daihatsu truck to the collection point inside the Chợ Lớn bus station |
Despite facing the threat of a pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City has been unable to stop the smuggling of poultry without quarantine.
At the city’s gateway roads, small poultry traders easily bypass checkpoints, delivering goods to consumption points almost openly…
A Collection Point
After three consecutive nights at the gateways An Sương, An Lạc, Thủ Đức, and District 8, we noticed sporadic motorbikes carrying eggs and live poultry speeding through the quarantine stations.
However, a source indicated that the nighttime transport of chickens and ducks has become a “thing of the past,” with live poultry being transported boldly during daylight hours, peaking around 9-11 AM.
At 9 AM on October 28, we sped towards the southwestern gateway along National Highway 1. Just outside Ho Chi Minh City, we immediately spotted an informal chicken market located in Mỹ Yên commune, Bến Lức district, Long An province. When our vehicle stopped, a girl exclaimed, “There’s a reporter!” Seeing us casually sitting at a stall in the market ordering a plate of duck salad, she lost her focus. This porridge shop serves as a “base point” for poultry traders, who often gather here to eat and play cards while waiting for their vehicles.
In reality, the market is just an empty lot. This is a collection point for chickens and ducks from Long An and several provinces in the Mekong Delta. Of course, all the poultry has not been quarantined. By 9 AM, about 100 people were already trading with quantities of chickens and ducks reaching into the thousands.
Tracking the Poultry Traders
At noon on October 28, we followed a motorbike with a Ho Chi Minh City license plate carrying three baskets of chickens and ducks on National Highway 1A. First, the bike sped past the An Lạc animal quarantine station safely, then unexpectedly turned onto Nguyễn Văn Linh street to “avoid” the checkpoint. Upon entering the city, the motorcycle headed towards District 8, crossed the Nhị Thiên Đường bridge, and stopped in front of a small house on Nguyễn Duy street. The man on the bike looked around and then carried all the chickens and ducks into house number… According to many nearby residents, this is a place dedicated to slaughtering chickens and ducks.
More discreetly, some traders transport chickens and ducks into the city using buses. Around 10 AM, 12-seater buses began stopping at the market. Following a bus on the Bình Chánh – Chợ Lớn route, we observed it speeding past the An Lạc animal quarantine station. When it reached Hồng Bàng street, near the Phạm Đình Hổ intersection (District 6), the bus stopped, unloading two large bags of chickens and ducks that were well-covered. Near the Chợ Lớn bus station, the bus stopped again at Cây Mai park to offload the goods. The shop owner hurriedly carried two large bags of chickens onto a waiting motorcycle and then rushed into a house in Trần Chánh Chiếu chicken market.
At the Chợ Lớn bus station, we encountered buses and trucks loaded with chickens and ducks on their roofs. More discreet vehicles concealed the poultry in baskets placed inside with passengers. In one corner of the bus station, dozens of poultry traders awaited their customers, lazily recounting their experiences of bypassing checkpoints.
According to their accounts, there are many checkpoints from Tiền Giang, but they are only stopped at three, while vehicles pass through An Lạc and Bình Chánh without issue. One poultry trader in his “under 30s” boasted about his success: “If you want to bring chickens and ducks into the city, you can do it anytime. Just head into Tân Bửu market, then circle around Đệm market, and finally go into Lê Minh Xuân industrial zone and along Bà Hom street. They’ll never find out.”
In addition to the southwestern gateway, many residents in the Tây Ninh gateway area also reported seeing trucks transporting chickens and ducks for sale along National Highway 22.
DONG HUNG – YEN TRINH – QUANG KHAI
