An underground tiger farm in Nghe An Province was kept hidden by two families in Do Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh since the animals were cubs.
On 4 August, police in Nghe An Province said the owners of these facilities are Ho Thi Thanh (31 year old), living in Nam Vuc, Do Thanh, and Nguyen thi Dinh (50 years old) living in Phu Xuan (Do Thanh).
The tigers were kept in filthy cages. Photo: VnExpress
At Thanh’s house, the police and the authority have found 14 Indochinese tigers with weight ranging from 200 to 265kg, meanwhile at Dinh’s, they have discovered 3 other tigers of the same kind.
To be able to keep the tigers, the families built an underground basement inside the house. Each basement has the length of 80 – 120 m2, and are made from several sturdy cages that held the animals. The only entrance to these basements are through multiple locked heavy metal doors.
From observation, the spacious two-storey house of Thanh’s family is located in an alley that is about 100 metre from the concrete road, sharing the same fence with two neighboring restaurants.
The basement where the tigers were kept. Photo courtesy of Nghe An Police Department.
The neighbors living near the two families were shocked when more than 14 tigers were brought out from the house. They said they did not hear any sounds or roars in the area and no one suspected anything unusual.
During investigation, the families said they brought these tigers from Laos when they were still cubs, and kept them in small cages for several months. Feeding the tigers was insanely costly, and when the cubs became adult tigers, the families would sell them for money.
The tigers were tranquilized and transported by trucks to an ecological area in Dien Chau (Nghe An) to be taken care of. Photo courtesy of Nghe An Police Department.
The police said the tigers were tranquilized and transported by trucks to an ecological area in Dien Chau (Nghe An) to be taken care of. The owners of the tiger farms are being investigated for illegal wildlife animals keeping.
This is the most serious and biggest illegal tiger farming case that have been discovered in Nghe An.
Photo: Nghe An Police Department
Police are investigating more into the case. Photo: Nghe An Police Department
Indochinese tigers are one of the dangered animals in Asia. Photo: VTC News
Photo: Nghe An Police Department
" "
Charlotte Pho
