The husband and wife dog/cat thieves used cyanide baits to kill the stolen dogs and cats, to sell them for meat. They were arrested by Nhu Xuan police in Thanh Hoa commune, with 21 stolen dogs and 9 stolen cats plus a large number unused cyanide baits. All the dogs and cats had been poisoned with cyanide, causing horrific painful deaths. Many dogs were heavily pregnant and some young puppies died next to their dead mothers.

Nguyen Van Phuong, 43 years old and his wife Hoang Thi Phuong, 35 year old, are both from Hai Duong province. Under police interrogation both thieves admitted to renting a house in Van Thang commune, Nong Cong district. Police raided the property and uncovered 100 grams of unused cyanide and 3 kilograms of dried fish, for making baits to kill dogs and cats for meat.

The property was used as a slaughterhouse and hoarding dungeon for stolen dogs and cats, to keep them hidden as they accumulated numbers of animals to sell to others. At the premises police saw discarded internal organs from slaughtered dogs and cats and multiple fridges. Under police interrogation the pair said specialized vehicles are used to transport their dog and cat meat to Hung Yen for human consumption.

The pair admitted to police that during June 11th to 14th  they used cyanide baits to steal 500 kilograms of dogs and cats in the districts of Nong Cong, Nhu Thanh and Nhu Xuan. They also admitted that prior to June 11 they used cyanide baits to steal dogs and cats in Nghia Dan town, Nghe An province.

Nhu Xuan Police investigations are underway to apprehend other gang members of the same dog and cat theft operations network.

Fight Dog Meat will continue to bring you reports from dog and cat meat countries and the wonderful work their rescuers are doing despite no animal protection laws. Turning away or sitting quietly does not end the trade. We’ll keep exposing what is taking place to these animals. We’re helping local volunteers have a louder voice on a world platform. Ultimately it’s the voice of the country’s own people whom their government will eventually be forced to listen to, for positive change for animals.

Thank you for reading,

Michele Brown
Founder,
Fight Dog Meat.