Three people in the northern province of Dien Bien were detained Thursday after electrocuting a tiger to produce bone glue.
Luong Van Anh, 45, Ngo Sy Thanh, 46, and Ngo Sy Tien, 55, were detained by police after a raid on Anh’s home.
The group electrocuted a 220-kilogram tiger before cutting it up. The three said they bought the tiger from a person in the north central province of Nghe An and brought it to Dien Bien to make bone glue, believed by some to be a traditional medicine for treating certain ailments.
Tigers are endangered animals listed on the IUCN Red List. Their population is threatened by poaching for illegal wildlife trade.
As of last year, there were around 360 tigers licensed to be raised in Vietnam, according to data from the IUCN.
