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Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Year of Tiger begins with big cat tragedy
By Ni Tao |
March 19, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE recent death of 11 endangered Siberian tigers from starvation in a northeastern Chinese zoo is an ironic tragedy in the Year of the Tiger, when the animal is a beloved symbol of power, protection and wealth.
An autopsy found the tigers at the Shenyang Forest Wildlife Zoo died of starvation-induced heart and renal failure.
The tigers, which died over a period of three months, had subsisted on a meager diet of chicken bones for months, maybe even years. The story came to light this month.
Their carcasses were emaciated and fat stores completely exhausted, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
A high-profile probe of the dead tiger saga has raised a chilling question: Was the tigers' starvation a cynical plan by the zoo to bully the government into keeping its funding taps running?
Following revelation of the tigers' death, the Shenyang municipal government provided 7 million yuan (about US$1 million) to rescue the remaining 20 tigers and other zoo animals and cover daily expenses, including settling 3 million yuan in back pay owed to zookeepers.
One hundred and forty-five zookeepers had gone on a five-day strike from March 10, bringing the zoo to a standstill. They are now back at work after being remunerated.
The zoo, mainly privately owned with a 15 percent stake held by the city government, claims to have been operating in the red since 2006 and is on constant lookout for someone to take over the "loss-making" business.
Its assertions of "underfunding," however, were disputed by government authorities and some zookeepers.
According to the Qipanshan management committee, which has administrative jurisdiction over the zoo, ticket sales can generate an annual revenue of 14 million to 17 million yuan.
Besides a combined 3 million-yuan payout from the city government and the committee on an annual basis, the committee also earmarked an extra 18,000 yuan per month to fund the zoo's operations.
The sum is more than enough to help the zoo turn a profit, the Oriental Post reported.
"The government has done everything, even stepped outside the purview of its function, to support the zoo," an official with the committee was quoted as saying.
Criminal neglect
However, audits of the zoo's balance sheet found that only 5,000 of monthly 18,000 yuan has trickled down to procurement of animal feed.
Less than 8 million yuan was spent on animals every year, the report said, citing Wu Xi, a manager of the zoo.
"The profits have been pocketed by the zoo's boss, Yang Zhenhua, to repay debts incurred elsewhere," Wu said.
While the zoo's asserted financial underdog status remains a mystery, the ongoing probe has brought more disturbing facts to light.
As the investigation deepens, it threatens to implicate people who have abetted the criminal neglect and exploitation of endangered animals.
The Beijing News reported on Wednesday that ever since 2005 the bones of dead tigers at the Shenyang zoo have been used in producing tiger bone liquor, a tonic that is said to cure impotence.
A zoo staffer said 45 tigers had perished since 2000. Their carcasses were skinned, mutilated for bone retrieval and frozen. Tiger meat was fed to other zoo carnivores, according to the Beijing News.
Urns of tiger bone liquor were presented as gifts to officials in return for favors, the newspaper reports.
The refrigeration and preservation of each dead tiger costs several thousand yuan of electricity per month.
Now it's clear where some of the zoo's revenues have gone, apart from lining individual pockets.
But while whining about its funding shortfall, the zoo has repeatedly turned down outside donations, alleging that "we are well financed and as a private entity are not eligible to receive donations," the Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
Such hypocritical words, when tigers and other animals were left to die in a supposed sanctuary from human encroachment on their natural habitat.
The zoo's shirking of its moral and financial responsibilities has resulted in mass starvations, not only of tigers, but also of cranes, bears, lions and ostriches.
That said, the government is not without blame either.
Dereliction of duty
Relevant authorities barely took any action against the zoo within three months after being alerted to the desperate situation there, the Beijing Times reported on Wednesday.
Had it not been for a media broadside, more tigers could have starved to death, or at least would still be starving.
Although Chinese law bans poaching and trading of endangered wildlife resources, there is no law that punishes those who abuse zoo animals or cause their deaths. Even in existing animal protection laws, loopholes are glaringly evident.
"State laws stipulate that the government has the right to dispose of dead tigers' parts, but they fall short of specifying which department is in charge," said the employee who blew the whistle on the zoo's illegal practice of making and stocking tiger bone liquor.
This absence of a credible deterrent, coupled with dereliction of duty by some officials, proved even more fatal than rapacious poachers for the ill-fated zoo tigers.
An autopsy found the tigers at the Shenyang Forest Wildlife Zoo died of starvation-induced heart and renal failure.
The tigers, which died over a period of three months, had subsisted on a meager diet of chicken bones for months, maybe even years. The story came to light this month.
Their carcasses were emaciated and fat stores completely exhausted, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
A high-profile probe of the dead tiger saga has raised a chilling question: Was the tigers' starvation a cynical plan by the zoo to bully the government into keeping its funding taps running?
Following revelation of the tigers' death, the Shenyang municipal government provided 7 million yuan (about US$1 million) to rescue the remaining 20 tigers and other zoo animals and cover daily expenses, including settling 3 million yuan in back pay owed to zookeepers.
One hundred and forty-five zookeepers had gone on a five-day strike from March 10, bringing the zoo to a standstill. They are now back at work after being remunerated.
The zoo, mainly privately owned with a 15 percent stake held by the city government, claims to have been operating in the red since 2006 and is on constant lookout for someone to take over the "loss-making" business.
Its assertions of "underfunding," however, were disputed by government authorities and some zookeepers.
According to the Qipanshan management committee, which has administrative jurisdiction over the zoo, ticket sales can generate an annual revenue of 14 million to 17 million yuan.
Besides a combined 3 million-yuan payout from the city government and the committee on an annual basis, the committee also earmarked an extra 18,000 yuan per month to fund the zoo's operations.
The sum is more than enough to help the zoo turn a profit, the Oriental Post reported.
"The government has done everything, even stepped outside the purview of its function, to support the zoo," an official with the committee was quoted as saying.
Criminal neglect
However, audits of the zoo's balance sheet found that only 5,000 of monthly 18,000 yuan has trickled down to procurement of animal feed.
Less than 8 million yuan was spent on animals every year, the report said, citing Wu Xi, a manager of the zoo.
"The profits have been pocketed by the zoo's boss, Yang Zhenhua, to repay debts incurred elsewhere," Wu said.
While the zoo's asserted financial underdog status remains a mystery, the ongoing probe has brought more disturbing facts to light.
As the investigation deepens, it threatens to implicate people who have abetted the criminal neglect and exploitation of endangered animals.
The Beijing News reported on Wednesday that ever since 2005 the bones of dead tigers at the Shenyang zoo have been used in producing tiger bone liquor, a tonic that is said to cure impotence.
A zoo staffer said 45 tigers had perished since 2000. Their carcasses were skinned, mutilated for bone retrieval and frozen. Tiger meat was fed to other zoo carnivores, according to the Beijing News.
Urns of tiger bone liquor were presented as gifts to officials in return for favors, the newspaper reports.
The refrigeration and preservation of each dead tiger costs several thousand yuan of electricity per month.
Now it's clear where some of the zoo's revenues have gone, apart from lining individual pockets.
But while whining about its funding shortfall, the zoo has repeatedly turned down outside donations, alleging that "we are well financed and as a private entity are not eligible to receive donations," the Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.
Such hypocritical words, when tigers and other animals were left to die in a supposed sanctuary from human encroachment on their natural habitat.
The zoo's shirking of its moral and financial responsibilities has resulted in mass starvations, not only of tigers, but also of cranes, bears, lions and ostriches.
That said, the government is not without blame either.
Dereliction of duty
Relevant authorities barely took any action against the zoo within three months after being alerted to the desperate situation there, the Beijing Times reported on Wednesday.
Had it not been for a media broadside, more tigers could have starved to death, or at least would still be starving.
Although Chinese law bans poaching and trading of endangered wildlife resources, there is no law that punishes those who abuse zoo animals or cause their deaths. Even in existing animal protection laws, loopholes are glaringly evident.
"State laws stipulate that the government has the right to dispose of dead tigers' parts, but they fall short of specifying which department is in charge," said the employee who blew the whistle on the zoo's illegal practice of making and stocking tiger bone liquor.
This absence of a credible deterrent, coupled with dereliction of duty by some officials, proved even more fatal than rapacious poachers for the ill-fated zoo tigers.
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