Vietnamese man ‘nabbed with frozen tiger’

A Vietnamese man was arrested in possession of a frozen tiger before he was able to sell the body of the endangered animal to collectors, state media reported on Tuesday.

Pham Hai Nam told police he bought the animal for VND600 million (US$30,800) in the northeastern port town of Hai Phong and planned to sell it for VND46,000, according to An Ninh Thu Do newspaper.

The 39-year-old, who was detained in Hanoi on Monday, also reportedly told police he would crush the tiger’s bones to make traditional medicine if he failed to find a buyer for the whole carcass.

The animal, which weighed 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and was 1.5 meters (five feet) long, has been given to the Museum of Nature for preservation, the report said.

It is believed the tiger was smuggled into Vietnam from overseas.

Environment police in Hanoi declined to comment.

The natural habitat of tigers has been threatened by rapid urbanization in Asia where they are hunted for fur and body parts used in traditional medicine.

Tigers are threatened by rapid urbanization in Asia where they are hunted for their fur and body parts

Related Articles

• Vietnamese man ‘nabbed with frozen tiger’
• Banks scramble for mid-level managers
• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand
• Travel demand up but prices unchanged
• Viet Nam and China sign pack on human trafficking

Lost seals captured in central Vietnam coast

A fisherman in Thua Thien-Hue captured a seal on Tuesday, and plans to sell the animal to the highest bidder.

Three others have been seen swimming the sea off the central coast - where the species are considered rare.

In general, however, the animals are known to seek refuge in marshes, inlets and lagoons after fighting through heavy storms in the open sea.

The captured seal weighs around 30 kilograms and is being kept in a cage by the fisherman while local authorities attempt to determine whether or not to take action.

Hoang Luong, 38, who caught the seal while fishing in the salty waters of Tam Giang Lagoon in the Huong Tra District.

Luong told Dan Tri newspaper that the seal was accidentally caught in his net 200 meters off the coast of the Hai Duong Commune.

Luong had to ask for help from seven other fishermen to haul the animal in. He said the whole process took nearly half an hour – the animal was very strong and attempted to bite them. Luong also said some trader offered to buy the animal for between VND1 million (US$51) and VND3 million, but he refused.

The fisherman is hoping to net a much higher price, he said.

Nguyen Tat Thanh, a local resident, said other local fishermen had reported numerous sightings of the aquatic mammal over the last 20 days.

Nguyen Quang Vinh Binh, head of Thua Thien-Hue Fisheries Protection Agency, said the agency is identifying the species of the seal and will seek advice from higher authorities.

The agency has also offered Luong VND2 million for the animal and threatened him with fines if he fails to cooperate all to no avail.

Binh said his agency has warned fishermen in the region from trying to catch seals.

Simon Faithfull, a technical advisor for Wildlife At Risk says that the seal’s appearance strikes him as extremely surprising. A quick scan of a regional book on aquatic mammals in South-East Asia turned up not a single species of seal. He guessed that the creatures had been thrown off course by heavy weather - perhaps the recent typhoon in North Korea.

As a conservation advocate, Faithfull advised that offering to pay for the release of any animal could send the wrong message.

“You don’t want this fisherman to get the idea that he can somehow make a living off of catching these animals,” he said.

Related Articles

• Lost seals captured in central Vietnam coast
• Seal released in central Vietnam
• Foreign sea leases deprive locals of living
• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights

Young seal netted in central lagoon

The seal that was caught by a fisherman in the central Thua Thien-Hue Province

Photo: Dan Tri news website

A fisherman in the central Thua Thien-Hue Province caught a fur seal in a shrimp-farming lagoon Tuesday.

Hoang Van Luong, 38, said he was fishing in Tam Giang Lagoon in Huong Tra District when he found the animal stuck in the net.

The animal measures 70 cm, weighs around 25 kilograms, and is possibly an adolescent, but its sex is yet to be identified.

Nguyen Quang Vinh Binh, chief of the province’s aquatic resources agency, said the seal may be released into the sea Friday after negotiations with the fisherman, adding his department has urged locals not to catch or keep the protected animal.

The seal is being kept in a cage and attracting huge crowds of curious people.

Chu Anh Khanh, an official at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute in Khanh Hoa Province, said climate change may have altered sea currents, bringing the semi-aquatic mammal to Vietnamese waters.

His institute will negotiate with local authorities to obtain the animal for study and care.

The fur seal is a species of pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora of which Vietnam is a signatory.

Related Articles

• Hanoi T&T win first V-League after scoreless draw
• PM lauds police for keeping public order
• Competition serves sustainable agenda
• Foreign sea leases deprive locals of living
• Future doctors look for clues in crazy race

Cattle from Thailand bypass border quarantine checks

QUANG BINH — Thousands of buffaloes and cows have been imported from Thailand without going through quarantine procedures, a media report said.

The regulation on a 15-day quarantine period was not being imposed at the Cha Lo Border Gate in central Quang Binh Province's Minh Hoa District, a report in the Nong thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper said.

The official excuse was the long distance between the Animal Health Department and the segregation areas made the cost and transportation of food for the stock expensive.

Quarantine certificates were being issue within as few as 1-7 days, the report said.

Importing livestock can be lucrative. One buffalo or cow can be bought for VND10 million ($523) in Thailand and sold for VND15-20 million ($785-1,046) in Viet Nam.

As many 10,000 buffaloes and cows crossed the border in the first seven months of the year.

Under regulations, livestock must go through seven stages of a 15-day quarantine period, supervised by Cha Lo Border Gate's Customs, Animal Health Agencies No 3 and the provincial Animal Health Department.

After 15 days, if segregated buffaloes and cows show no signs of disease, the owners receive quarantine certificates and the stock can be sold on the domestic market, the regulations state.

Violators are liable to a fine of VND15-20 million (US$785-1,046).

However, the rules were being ignored by agencies, the report said.

Provincial Animal Health Department head Pham Hong Son said "We just issue quarantine certificates for companies after the Animal Health Agency No 3 finish all quarantine procedures for animals and send files to us."

If animals had diseases, responsibilities belonged with the agency, Son said.

Besides, he said, the department and agency faced many difficulties in quarantining animals. Transporting feed for animals for 15 days was expensive, he said.

"We have submitted a proposal to building one concentrated segregated station in the Khe Ve area in Minh Hoa District," he said. — VNS

Related Articles

• Transport of pigs under scrutiny to stop blue-ear
• Green cars begin world race
• High rice price cuts exports
• Energy group asks for 50% price hike
• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting