Blog Post #1 US Diplomat posed as Korean tourist in undercover visit to China tiger farm

An American diplomat went undercover to a tiger and bear farm that was found to be treating the animals with cruelty. It had been alleged in media reports in 2007 that the farm sold tiger meat in its restaurant and tiger bone wine in its shop. The diplomat had trouble getting into the farm, but when the personnel were convinced he was Korean, they were ready to do business. While the diplomat did not witness killing of these animals, he did however see the animals beaten and used for circus type shows. One was even placed in a cage with an ox to be “introduced to the wild”. Another extremely strange thing the diplomat saw was that the animals were made to join mock Chinese marriage receptions and act as a bride and groom. There were over 1,000 tigers in cages at the farm. Even the locals said that the farm served tiger meat and sold tiger skin, which the personnel denied.

I see this as a great injustice. This is no place for endangered animals, or for any animals. The diplomat didn’t find any signs of whether or not the animals were being killed for food, but regardless they were being treated with cruelty, and need an environment they can live peacefully in and remain healthy. If they were being killed, the personnel would have doubtfully told him anyway. The tiger pictured (see link) looked extremely malnourished, as if it had not been fed for a week. I believe the solution is for the farm to be shut down immediately. If any more cases are discovered, I think the same should apply. This case really draws awareness to the issue for me. This is an example of people gaining profit at the expense of these animals’ well being. It is clear that this farm is up to no good, and nothing positive can come out of it as long as the animals remain there. They need to be released into their environment, or somewhere suitable, after being nourished back to health. While this may or may not be an isolated case, it affects the whole tiger population. In the long run this type of thing could even lead to extinction. If they are already endangered, they especially need to be protected.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/25/us-diplomat-china-tiger-farm