Police in the southern province of Tay Ninh have arrested six men as part of raid on a dog theft gang last week.

The gang members, aged 27 to 55, were reportedly caught red handed around 5:30am local time on Friday, transporting dogs for sale.

The officers have alleged three of the men roamed the streets and used stun guns to catch dogs, while their accomplices would slaughter and sell the animals for meat at 50,000 Vietnam dong a kilo. (A$3)

At the time of arrest, police seized 47 dogs, including 32 dead ones, and several tools of the dog thieves, including taser guns, portable energy storages, weighing scales, motorbikes and a device to strip the dog’s hairs.

According to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance, an estimated five million dogs are killed annually for meat in Vietnam, placing the south-eastern nation second on the list of Asian countries which eat the most dog meat. China is the biggest consumer of dog meat, consuming roughly 20 million.

Vietnam does not have strong regulations to stop the practice.

– with other agencies