VietNamNet Bridge - The wife of a man who has two previous convictions for being involved in the killing and trafficking of tigers has been allowed to import and breed nine tigers.

ENV (Education for Nature – Vietnam) has reported that CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) on April 5 conducted an examination to confirm the facilities and cages’ conditions at the Hon Nhan Ecology Garden in Nghe An province. 

Gardens certified as having sufficient conditions would be licensed to import nine more tigers for breeding, multiplication, display and conservation purposes. 

The owner of the garden is the wife of Pham Van Tuan, who has two previous convictions because of crimes related to tiger and wildlife killing and trafficking.

Tuan has also been suspected as leading a ring specializing in illegally trading and carrying wild animals across the Vietnam – Laos - Thailand border lines.

Nguyen Thi Lien, the legal representative of Bach Ngoc Lam Company Ltd, the wife of Pham Van Tuan, in January 2016 received a license from the Nghe An provincial People’s Committee on breeding tigers for ecotourism. The company received 15 tigers from Muong Thanh Ecology Company Ltd in Nghe An province. 

Bui Thi Ha, deputy director of ENV, has protested against the Nghe An provincial authorities’ decision on licensing the tiger breeding.

The wife of a man who has two previous convictions for being involved in the killing and trafficking of tigers has been allowed to import and breed nine tigers.

“ENV believes that it is really an unreasonable decision to allow the wife of a subject with previous convictions on crimes related to wildlife trafficking,” she stated.

“Allowing Pham Van Tuan and his wife to breed tigers means that the local authorities have officially created favorable conditions for the subjects to continue committing the violations of the wildlife protection laws,” she said.

According to Ha, the tiger population in Vietnam has been declining seriously in the last 30 years. It is estimated that there are about 30 tigers existing in the wild.

Tiger trafficking activities in Vietnam have been developing under the mask of legal trade. ENV has found that the number of tigers being bred in captivity at private zoos and farms has soared from 81 in 2010 to 179 in 2015.

ENV has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the strong development of tiger farms in Vietnam, pointing out that most of the farms have tried to legalize tiger trafficking.

Meanwhile, Tran Ngoc Chinh, deputy head of the Nghe An provincial Forest Rangers’ Unit, said that he could not see any problems in licensing Lien to breed tigers. 

The tiger breeding at Lien’s company has been done well since the licensing and the company has been allowed to import nine more tigers.

Dat Viet