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HARBIN, China -- The tourists piled into the bus, which took them through a series of gates into an enclosed, snow-covered field. Within minutes, the bus _ modified so that a steel cage covered the windows _ was surrounded by more than 20 Siberian tigers.
A Toyota Land Cruiser pulled into the enclosure and someone inside tossed out two live chickens that landed near the left side of the bus. Cameras clicked and blood splattered. Within seconds, the tigers had ripped the birds apart.
As inhumane as this scene from February might appear, it is just a small part of what happens each day at Chinas tiger farms. Sanctioned by the government but accused of routinely violating Chinese laws and international agreements, these farms exist mainly to breed and kill tigers for the marketing of pelts and tiger bone wine.
A visit by a McClatchy reporter to Chinas two largest tiger farms, in the northern city of Harbin and in the southern city of Guilin, found animals in deplorable conditions. In both cities, merchants openly sold bone wine, despite a 1993 ban by China on bone products sourced from both domesticated and wild tigers.
Chinas treatment of tigers was further thrust into the spotlight last week, when 15 people in south China were arrested for killing at least 10 of the big cats. According to a newspaper, the Nanfang Daily, the tigers were killed to provide entertainment and fresh meat for businessmen hoping to show off their wealth in the city of Zhanjiang, in Guangdong province.
Animal welfare experts say such incidents demonstrate that the Chinese government has done little to enforce its 1993 ban on the trade in tiger bones, a requirement of the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which Beijing has ratified.
Read more here: HARBIN, China: China’s tiger parks under fire from conservationists, animal cruelty experts - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com
Same thing is happening with rhinos.
And, Putin killed a snared tiger just to look like the man he's not. Just as bad because it sends the message that its okay to kill endangered animals just to feed your weak ego and give you a hard on.
Can't the bastards just take Viagra?
