Vietnam: Farms allowed to raise tigers as pets

Vietnam’s prime minister will allow four private farms to continue to raise dozens of pet tigers despite strong protests from international wildlife conservation groups, an official said today.

Vietnamese agriculture officials last month asked Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to allow them to confiscate the 41 tigers in southern Binh Duong province and transfer them to semi-wild facilities. But they later backed down after the minister visited one of the farms and found the animals were well cared for.