Police in Ha Tinh Province found four live tigers in a car on September 4. The seizure was the biggest-ever illegal tiger shipping ring in the province to date.
The car including the 22.15 kilo tigers and 119 pangolins weighing some 424 kilos was seized on a section of National Highway 8A running through Duc Lam Commune, Duc Tho District.
Lieutenant Commander Dang Quang Niem, Deputy Head of the provincial Environmental Department, said the tigers belonged to the Indochinese family are were being illegally held.
The tigers were found in very bad health. Three were too small to eat by themselves, with the fourth facing digestive problems.
Experts from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources said the tigers were being traded for ornamental purpose and it was unlikely they were set for slaughter for supposed medicinal purposes.
The investigation agency believes it has a strong enough case to prosecute the two violators. The police are actively pursuing inquires to discover the owner of the batch.
The local Forest Management Board and the police have handed over the four tigers to Wildlife Search and Rescue Centre under the Hanoi Forestry Management Department.
According to statistics in 2011 released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Vietnam has just 30 wild tigers, a dramatic plunge in the 100 strong wild tiger population, just a decade ago.
