Visitors to a state-run bird sanctuary aimed at preserving wildlife in the Mekong Delta can enjoy nature up close as well as sample in storks and other rare birds which could be directly sourced in-house.
Dong Thap province’s 36-hectare Gao Giong Bird Yard, part of the Gao Giong Eco-Tourism Park in Cao Lanh District, is home to 15 bird species, including storks, egrets, sparrows, wild ducks and herons, and some rare species listed as endangered.
As a refreshing stop for tourists, a restaurant there is offering drinks and food at affordable prices.
However, Thanh Nien found out that storks and other birds are also on the menu.
After enjoying nature safari-style on an 18-meter-high birdwatching zone, Thanh Nien reporters were invited to have various specialties made specifically from birds.
They were told by T., a waitress that the storks were alive before being cooked.
“It is terrible because we have just watched the birds and now we are invited to eat them,” a visitor told Thanh Nien.
“How on earth could it happen in a state-run bird sanctuary?”
Vo Van Lo, deputy director of the Gao Giong Eco-Tourism Services Limited Company that supervises the eco-zone, said the birds served there were bought from local residents, and not caught inside the sanctuary.
But he admitted he did not know exactly where the birds came from.
Dong Thap is famous for a huge bird population.
