Six men in Vietnam were busted this week for killing and eating an endangered monkey — and livestreaming the gruesome event on Facebook, according to a report.
The suspects, ranging in age from 35 to 59, used a phone to film themselves eating the live leaf-eating langur monkey — one of the most endangered primate species in the world — on Nov. 17, AFP reported.
They were finally identified and arrested Thursday, according to the report.
“It took time for us to figure out the suspects involved,” a police officer in central Ha Tinh province told the outlet.
They’ve been accused of violating regulations protecting “endangered and precious animals,” and copped to the offense, according to a statement posted on the Ha Tinh provincial police’s website.
One of the men purchased the langur — a species found only in northern Vietnam — from a hunter for $49, the statement said.
The trafficking and consumption of rare, endangered species is not uncommon in Vietnam, where many believe they possess healing and medicinal qualities and they are sold on the black market.
Those who purchase the animals rarely broadcast the killing and eating of the creatures, which are protected by the country’s conservation laws.
Other endangered species, including the Red River giant soft-shell turtle, the mountainous Saola antelope and the snub-nosed Tonkin monkey, have made their home in Vietnam — and critics argue that conservation protection laws are not effectively enforced, according to the report.
Poaching of endangered animals goes largely unchecked, both in Vietnam and China, the critics say.