Two men detained after dozens of dogs found butchered in Saigon house

Police officers saw two men standing in front of a house in Tan Kien Commune early Sunday morning. As suspicions rose, the officers came to the men for a normal check.

One man than ran inside the house and locked the door. The other one, 43-year-old Nguyen Hoang Trieu, tried to fight back the police but was eventually subdued. Officers seized tear gas cans, bags of chili powder and tasers from the man.

The owner of the house, 43-year-old Nguyen Duy Khanh, was eventually forced to open the door. Police discovered hundreds of dogs inside, dead and being butchered.

Dozens of dogs are found dead inside a house in HCMC’s Binh Chanh District, February 12, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy

The police determined that Khanh and Trieu were part of a dog theft and trade ring, and so they were detained for further investigation.

Vietnam consumes an estimated five million dogs a year, second only to China’s 20 million, the Asia Canine Protection Alliance said in 2016. Many dogs served at restaurants are stolen pets sold to small, unregulated abattoirs.

Dog theft is rarely treated as a criminal offense in Vietnam unless the stolen animals are valued at more than VND2 million ($86).