Zoo sold dead tigers to traffickers

Hanoi Zoo admitted selling dead tigers to Vietnamese animal traffickers, the latest in a spate of violations of international conservation laws meant to protect the animals.

Vietnamese papers said that the money, about US$8000 ($10,300) each for two tigers, was deposited into the zoo's bank account.

Tiger bones and other wild animal body parts are used to make traditional medicines in Southeast Asia. The tigers were reported to have died of diseases in the zoo, but they should have been cremated.

- REUTERS