HCM City authorities inspect a wildlife holding facility in Dong Hoa Ward on December 15
The Ministry of Public Security, working with the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department, inspected a wildlife holding facility in Dong Hoa Ward on December 15. The inspection found multiple animals listed as endangered, precious and rare.
One of the tigers kept at Tan's facility.
The facility owner, Ngo Duy Tan, provided inspectors with documents related to his pilot wildlife breeding operation. However, under a document issued by the Vietnam CITES Management Authority on March 6, 2020, several species he was keeping, including bears, leopards, black-shanked douc langurs, freshwater crocodiles and tigers, did not meet legal origin requirements. As a result, the authority said there was insufficient basis to issue a breeding facility code for these species.
Inspectors found that Tan’s first facility was holding two yellow-cheeked gibbons weighing between 3.5kg and 4kg each, two female tigers, one female leopard and two Asiatic black bears.
The leopard kept at Tan's facility.
Tan also declared that he was keeping 10 crocodiles at a second facility.
At the time of the inspection, Tan’s company was unable to provide documents proving the legal origin of all the wildlife being kept.
According to conclusions from the Centre for Ecology and Biological Resources, the two yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae), two tigers (Panthera tigris), one leopard (Panthera pardus) and two Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) all belong to groups of endangered, precious and rare wildlife subject to priority protection.
On the same day, the inspection team coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City police and the people’s procuracy to seize the animals and carry out legal proceedings in line with the law.
