China's tigers pushed to the brink
By Tony Cheng in Helonjiang, Northern China
There are thought to be fewer than 300
Siberian Tigers left in the wild
The Siberian tiger is one of the world's most endangered species.
China was once home to a large tiger population, but rapid growth and a demand for animal parts has pushed the tiger to the brink of extinction.
In China's northernmost province of Helonjiang winter temperatures can plunge as low as minus 40C.
But that is no problem for the biggest cat in the world.
The Siberian Tiger has roamed the woods and plains here since the ice age.
Growing up to three metres long and weighing just under half a tonne, the relentless search for food has given Siberian Tigers a reputation as one of nature's most vicious killers.
At the Helonjiang Tiger Farm, things are somewhat different.
Noble beasts
For the tigers bred here a truck makes the daily lunch delivery – six kilograms per tiger each day.
Tigers raised at the farm get a
daily ration of six kilograms of beef
It is a much easier catch than the deer they would normally be hunting in the wild.
But watching them at feeding time, it is hard not to feel that this most noble of beasts should not be raised on a farm.
Wang Li Gang, the owner of the farm, says raising the tigers in captivity is a necessity.
According to the World Wildlife Fund there are fewer than 300 left in the wild.
If this government-sponsored programme did not exist, Wang says, the Siberian Tiger's chances of survival would be slim.
"In the wild the small number of Siberian Tigers we've found suggests they're on the brink of extinction," he says.
As China's cities have ballooned, the forests in which the Siberian Tigers used to roam have been chopped down – turning what used to be the tigers' hunting grounds into the farmland and apartment blocks.
Prized
Tiger habitat is being squeezed by China's
booming cities and a hunger for land
In this new urban jungle, the tigers' biggest threat is man.
Tiger parts are highly prized in China – not just the fur, but also the meat, bones and even the penis are believed to have health benefits.
As China's economy has boomed, the demand for tiger parts has stoked a booming trade.
The Chinese government has imposed strict laws on the trade which have won the praise of conservation groups.
Li Lin, of the WWF in China, told Al Jazeera that the Chinese government has banned all trade in tiger bones.
"So no tiger bones should be sold inside China."
At the Helongjiang tiger farm, however, that law is being stretched to the limit.
In the gift shop, we found more than stuffed toys on sale.
Conservation
Demand for tiger products is soaring
despite a ban on the trade
The centrepiece is a vat of grain alcohol infused with the skeleton of a whole tiger and bags of body parts.
The brew is siphoned off and sold to visitors for $70 a bottle.
The tiger farm's owners say its programmes are more about conservation than commercialism.
But they say the cost of breeding, feeding and maintaining their cats have to be met somehow.
That has raised questions about the true benefits of such a controversial means of conservation.
What seems to be beyond doubt though is that these crouching tigers are paying the price of China's emerging dragon.
Showing posts with label tiger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiger. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Former tiger owners plead guilty to charges
Former tiger owners plead guilty to charges
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com
The couple whose escaped tiger was shot near Miller Park in Moorpark two years ago pled guilty Jan. 8 to federal charges relating to animal welfare and obstruction of justice.
Gert Hedengran, 58, admitted to felony counts of making false statements to agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Hedengran also pled guilty for two misdemeanor counts of failing to maintain proper records for the exotic animals.
Authorities recommended that he go to federal prison for 14 months and receive supervised release afterward. Supervised release is much tougher than probation, said Joseph Johns, assistant U.S. district attorney who prosecuted the case.
His wife, Roena Hedengran, 54, pled guilty to one misdemeanor count for failing to maintain records of exotic felines.
She and the U.S. attorney's office have asked the judge to sentence her to three years of probation, four months of home detention and a $2,000 fine, Johns said. Both will be sentenced in April.
But the judge is not bound by the plea agreements and he could impose tougher sentences.
"I can't predict what the judge is going to do," said Johns, who is satisfied with the preliminary results because crimes involving exotic animals don't usually yield any prison time.
The Hedengrans owned several exotic felines, including lions and tigers, for about seven years through March 2005. They allowed people who donated money to them to visit and play with the animals. But the cats weren't rescued animals- they were mostly bought on the open market, said Johns.
The animals were transferred to Moorpark in January 2005 because the Hedengrans were evicted from their prior location in Temecula.
A Siberian lynx and the adult male Siberian tiger escaped from the new facility in the Tierra Rejada Valley during the move. The lynx was spotted by neighbors and authorities managed to tranquilize and capture the animal which was returned to the Hedengrans.
But the tiger roamed the eastern Ventura County rural region for more than three weeks before it was shot and killed by a federal animal tracker with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The Hedengrans denied that the large tiger was theirs at the time.
There are many fatalities and severe injuries involving big cats. Those cases almost always involved negligent conduct but nobody gets prosecuted, he said.
Having a Siberian tiger loose in the chaparrals of Moorpark for a few weeks was an incredibly dangerous situation, the U.S. attorney said, so this case was a milestone as it produced results.
Johns hopes that this disposition will encourage other big cat owners to follow the rules and take measures to protect their neighbors.
Since the Moorpark incident, the Hedengrans have been living in Pahrump, Nev. with their cats. Although they won't be able to own cats in California anymore, they could still keep the creatures in other states in the future, said Johns.
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com
The couple whose escaped tiger was shot near Miller Park in Moorpark two years ago pled guilty Jan. 8 to federal charges relating to animal welfare and obstruction of justice.
Gert Hedengran, 58, admitted to felony counts of making false statements to agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
Hedengran also pled guilty for two misdemeanor counts of failing to maintain proper records for the exotic animals.
Authorities recommended that he go to federal prison for 14 months and receive supervised release afterward. Supervised release is much tougher than probation, said Joseph Johns, assistant U.S. district attorney who prosecuted the case.
His wife, Roena Hedengran, 54, pled guilty to one misdemeanor count for failing to maintain records of exotic felines.
She and the U.S. attorney's office have asked the judge to sentence her to three years of probation, four months of home detention and a $2,000 fine, Johns said. Both will be sentenced in April.
But the judge is not bound by the plea agreements and he could impose tougher sentences.
"I can't predict what the judge is going to do," said Johns, who is satisfied with the preliminary results because crimes involving exotic animals don't usually yield any prison time.
The Hedengrans owned several exotic felines, including lions and tigers, for about seven years through March 2005. They allowed people who donated money to them to visit and play with the animals. But the cats weren't rescued animals- they were mostly bought on the open market, said Johns.
The animals were transferred to Moorpark in January 2005 because the Hedengrans were evicted from their prior location in Temecula.
A Siberian lynx and the adult male Siberian tiger escaped from the new facility in the Tierra Rejada Valley during the move. The lynx was spotted by neighbors and authorities managed to tranquilize and capture the animal which was returned to the Hedengrans.
But the tiger roamed the eastern Ventura County rural region for more than three weeks before it was shot and killed by a federal animal tracker with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The Hedengrans denied that the large tiger was theirs at the time.
There are many fatalities and severe injuries involving big cats. Those cases almost always involved negligent conduct but nobody gets prosecuted, he said.
Having a Siberian tiger loose in the chaparrals of Moorpark for a few weeks was an incredibly dangerous situation, the U.S. attorney said, so this case was a milestone as it produced results.
Johns hopes that this disposition will encourage other big cat owners to follow the rules and take measures to protect their neighbors.
Since the Moorpark incident, the Hedengrans have been living in Pahrump, Nev. with their cats. Although they won't be able to own cats in California anymore, they could still keep the creatures in other states in the future, said Johns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
