Tiger-bone wine proves latest scandal to rock Chinese zoos
By Wang Xiang |
March 31, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SECRET trade in "tiger-bone wine" in a northeast China zoo was revealed yesterday, further raising questions on neglect in Chinese zoos.
A nationwide scandal erupted earlier this month when 11 rare Siberian tigers died of starvation in captivity.
The center piece in Northeast China Tiger Park in Heilongjiang Province was a huge fish tank with a tiger's skeleton soaking in liquor.
Park officials sold this liquor for as high as 2,880 yuan (US$422) a bottle, according to a local news Website.
A staffer with the park said 780 yuan was charged for the lowest-priced bottle of the liquor.
A tiny sliver of tiger bone was in the top-of-the-range brew, marketed as "a miraculous medicine that strengthens bones," the employee said.
The seller guaranteed that tiger bones were submerged in the liquor for at least three years and it was especially good in treating rheumatism.
The employee said the bones were genuine because the zoo had easy access to them. He added that the sales were best every summer and customers mainly came from southern parts of China.
Trade in tiger parts was banned nationwide in 1993, although bones are sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine and as a tonic for men.
Stories of animal abuse in zoos have gained prominence since the deaths of the Siberian tigers in Shenyang Forest Park.
The deaths sparked a heated discussion on the poor living conditions for captive animals in China.
An insider said the 11 tigers were deliberately starved to death as a "bargaining chip" for government fund allocations.
The big cat tragedy attracted extra attention, particularly among Netizens, because this year marks the Year of Tiger on the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.
A mass burial pit filled with carcasses of large and endangered animals was found in another forest park in Heilongjiang, where elephants, monkeys and tigers were fed with chicken bones and soybeans daily since a "food reform program" in 2004 designed to save costs.
A nationwide scandal erupted earlier this month when 11 rare Siberian tigers died of starvation in captivity.
The center piece in Northeast China Tiger Park in Heilongjiang Province was a huge fish tank with a tiger's skeleton soaking in liquor.
Park officials sold this liquor for as high as 2,880 yuan (US$422) a bottle, according to a local news Website.
A staffer with the park said 780 yuan was charged for the lowest-priced bottle of the liquor.
A tiny sliver of tiger bone was in the top-of-the-range brew, marketed as "a miraculous medicine that strengthens bones," the employee said.
The seller guaranteed that tiger bones were submerged in the liquor for at least three years and it was especially good in treating rheumatism.
The employee said the bones were genuine because the zoo had easy access to them. He added that the sales were best every summer and customers mainly came from southern parts of China.
Trade in tiger parts was banned nationwide in 1993, although bones are sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine and as a tonic for men.
Stories of animal abuse in zoos have gained prominence since the deaths of the Siberian tigers in Shenyang Forest Park.
The deaths sparked a heated discussion on the poor living conditions for captive animals in China.
An insider said the 11 tigers were deliberately starved to death as a "bargaining chip" for government fund allocations.
The big cat tragedy attracted extra attention, particularly among Netizens, because this year marks the Year of Tiger on the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.
A mass burial pit filled with carcasses of large and endangered animals was found in another forest park in Heilongjiang, where elephants, monkeys and tigers were fed with chicken bones and soybeans daily since a "food reform program" in 2004 designed to save costs.
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