While pretending to be a hunter for tiger bone paste, a Tuoi Tre undercover journalist met Mr. T, a tiger farmer in Do Thanh commune’s Vach Bac hamlet, through the recommendation of a bus driver who said: “T. can draw a diagram of all tiger farms in the area.”
Since the driver is a friend of T, he judged that the Tuoi Tre reporter was a “satisfied customer” after several mutual greetings.
“If you want caged tigers to grow fast, you need to know about tiger care,” T. told Tuoi Tre after presenting the main features of tiger bone paste as a panacea.
“Farmers often feed cheap but healthy food to tigers, such as buffalo meat, chicken heads or vegetables. Cabbages or morning glory – a kind of vegetable – in particular need to be pulverized before being fed to the large cats,” T. explained.
When the reporter asked to buy some tiger bone paste, T said there are two different prices: an “internal” price for those who produce the bone paste at VND15 million (US$720) per ounce, and an “external” price for strangers ranging from VND20 million ($960) to VND21 million ($1008) per ounce.
T stated that if the bone paste costs under the above prices, it is certainly fake, adding that owners can earn huge profits from trading tiger parts.
A pair of tiger cubs weighing from 3-4 kilograms each is offered for sale from VND350 million ($16,800) to VND370 million ($17,762) (transportation costs included) in Thailand or Laos, T said.
After one year in captivity, the pair can weigh 200 kilograms in total. Since each kilogram of tiger fetches VND50 million ($2,400) on the black market, farmers can earn a profit of VND600 million ($28,804) after deducting food expenses (roughly VND400 million ($19,203)), he continued.
However, according to T, it is hard to take back the invested capital if cubs die. So, many villagers consider tiger farming as a risky business.
Three large tigers are kept in a small cage, the walls of which are soundproofed, in Do Thanh commune. Farmers feed them like they feed pigs. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Tigers caged in attics
After the Tuoi Tre reporter expressed a wish to see how tigers live in captivity, T refused, saying: “If strangers know how our illegal tiger farming operates, the truth will come out sooner or later and we could face trouble. Thus, tiger farmers are very cautious of strangers.”
In addition, tigers are usually gentle to caretakers, but roar violently whenever they meet strangers or get sick. During such times, caretakers often increase the TV or cassette volume to conceal their roars.
However, since he did not want to let the reporter down, T revealed that tigers are kept in solid wire cages built in basements or attics at private houses, with each cage covering from 15 to 20m2.
According to T, tiger farmers never allow customers to visit the tiger cages unless they are sure that the customers are not police or forest rangers. People who have been recommended by their siblings are allowed to see the cages.
A caged tiger seen in a photo taken by Mr. T – a tiger farmer in Do Thanh commune. Photo: Tuoi Tre
T told the reporter that not long ago two officials from Hanoi came to the house of a tiger owner in the village and asked to buy two tigers as a gift to their boss. After careful consideration, the farmer fixed a price of VND50 million ($2,400) per kilograms and required a deposit. The customers immediately put VND200 million ($9,600) on the table for the deal.
But when he handed over the tigers to the customers, police suddenly showed up and announced his arrest.
T then told another story explaining why strangers are always under the vigilant eyes of tiger owners: one day Do Thanh police unexpectedly searched the house of Nguyen Xuan Trong, who bred three tigers, following a tip-off from a jealous neighbor.
However, Trong was not arrested after his son allegedly gave a VND90 million ($4320) bribe to police and moved the tigers to another location.
When asked by Tuoi Tre about this case, Colonel Le Xuan Diep, police chief of Yen Thanh Commune, said he would respond later and declined to comment further about the case since the vice chief police, Pham Xuan Khanh, who is in charge of handling criminal cases, is busy studying.
A 100kg tiger on the loose
T. revealed a shocking story that last year a large tiger weighing more than 100 kilograms that was kept in captivity at the house of Le Phuong – T’s younger brother - was shot after it escaped because the caretaker forgot to close the door to its cage.
After the tiger escaped, T. and other his brothers attacked the animal and gunned it down. The two other tigers in the cage were also electrically shocked to death in order to cover up the incident from local authorities.
However, the case was eventually uncovered. Afterward, Phuong quit the tiger farming business and opened a hotel.
Gov’t unaware of presence of caged tigers
Nguyen Van Xuyen, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of Do Thanh commune, told Tuoi Tre: “I do not know anyone raising tigers at home. If they do so, they keep them in secret. Since tiger farming is illegal, they often hide it from authorities. As far as I know, parents even conceal tiger farming from their children.”
Meanwhile, Nguyen Trong Thuc, chief of the Forest Management Unit in Yen Thanh, said he has assigned staff members to track down the whereabouts of tigers in the locality 24/7.
“The problem is that many houses in the area are closed so it is difficult for us to find signs of tiger farms. I think illegal farming will only be uncovered if local police and environment and economic police from the provincial public security department work together,” Thuc said.
Colonel Le Xuan Diep admitted that he was told there are tiger farmers in Do Thanh commune, but he said the information has yet to be verified.
(To be continued)
(Tuoitrenew.vn)