They say that money drives men crazy, and in this case it makes some do very stupid things. A wealthy businessman in China had a few tigers killed for his pleasure and we're just about as unhappy about this as you are!
Transportation for Torture
The tigers were anesthetized for their transportation to a place where their torturers are assured that they are kept alive before they kill them. These people take pleasure from electrocuting the tigers before cutting them into pieces. There seems to be no emotional connection to the poor animals!
Sold for Meat
The tiger parts were then sold at ridiculous prices as once again it all comes down to money. For a kilogram of fur and bones they got 1, 600 euro and 120 euro for a kilogram of meat. The man who was suspected of killing the tigers died while trying to get away from the police.
The Hunting of Tigers
This practise continues despite China having banned the hunting of tigers and consumers continue to buy the by-products from a tiger which symbolises wealth in their culture. Tiger parts are also very important in traditional Chinese medicine; they are believed to have therapeutic properties.
Justice for the Tigers
Luckily the wealthy Chinese real estate developer was caught, and sentenced to thirteen years in jail by a court in China. He has been charged with purchasing and eating the tigers. They had found tiger meat and bones in the man’s house as evidence. This is one step forward, a good sign that even the wealthiest are not exempt to the law.
A Ban on Trading Tiger
The Chinese government had banned the trading of tiger ‘parts’ in 1993 as they realised the tigers were being driven to extinction through poaching. Unfortunately there is still a big market for these products, the wealthy still turn to the black markets to get what they want.
We can only hope that attitudes towards this horrible practise will change and therefore stop it from happening.
Source: New Planet & The Dodo
Photo Credit: Thinkstock
Kashif H
YummyOrNot Y