China has a weird and abusive relationship with the most beautiful and popular member of the
Panthera genus,
Panthera tigris. Animal welfare activists abhor the atavistic use of tiger parts in Chinese folk remedies, marketed as
medicine around the world. Chinese authorities have made poaching of tigers a crime punishable by death, but the illegal trade flourishes. An estimated 5,000 or more tigers are held in captivity on so-called
"tiger farms" where they are bred for profit. China signed the CITIES convention in 1981But the latest animal welfare story out of China is a new low in the human abuse of this noble animal. There are only 20 wild Siberian tigers left in the wild in China, 300 in the wild. Eleven siberian tigers starved to death in the underfunded Shenyang Zoo. The zoo has been closed and an official inquiry ordered into the "irregular deaths", but the sad fact is that 50% of the Chinese siberian tiger population is dead due to human cruelty of unimaginable proportions. The tigers were systematically undernourished and died of starvation because they were fed only chicken bones! Two tigers were shot after mauling their callous guards. The private park is operating on a shoestring budget and has lost twenty-six animals from 15 species including a lion, a brown bear and a Mongolian horse. The zoo's costs are about 10 million yuan a year, but the government which owes a 15% interest in the zoo has only pledged 7 million yuan ($1.03 million) to defray expenses. The zoo "manager" has said the nothing illegal occurred and that the tiger remains are stored in a freezer, but a zoo worker quoted by news service Xinhua, said the remains were made into a tiger bone liquor, "used to serve important guests". The outrage in China over the inhuman treatment at the zoo has apparently been considerable. The 30 tigers still alive at Shenyang are now being fed more food, 2.5kgs of beef and two hens a day. Their cages have been cleaned and heaters and lighting installed. The Chinese government must take more aggressive steps to end the illegal trade in tiger parts, and end the cruel breeding of tigers in captivity for this purpose. Land needs to be set aside for tiger habitat, and as many captive animals as sustainable released into the wild Failure to act will severely detract from China's international reputation as a modern, developed nation. The Year of the Tiger is a good time to start.
