Beijing restaurants selling illegal alligator
25-12-2009 By Song Yuanyuan, Global Times, China
Two restaurants were found illegally selling alligator, giant salamander and sturgeon by the Beijing Fishing Supervision and Administration Station (BFSAS) on Thursday. Alligator, giant salamander and sturgeon are under national second-class protection, according to Chinese wildlife law.
Beijing fishing supervisor inspecting the illegal alligator. Photo: Wang Zhenlong
Upon receiving public tip-offs, BFSAS along with police conducted an inspection on the two restaurants. One of them is located in Haidian district, selling a 12-kilogram alligator priced at 336 yuan ($49.34) per kilogram and two giant salamanders for 3,360 yuan ($493.39) per kilogram. The other is located in Xicheng district and was found to be selling Siberian sturgeon.
"Neither of the two restaurants have a permit to sell those fish. We do not know where they got these animals from," an official surnamed He from the BFSAS told the Global Times.
According to He, these animals are not prohibited from being sold because husbandry has greatly increased their numbers. Those who sell them must apply for permits issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and pay wildlife protection fees to the agricultural bureau regularly. The more they sell, the higher the fees.
The BFSAS have seized all the fish and plans to investigate further. According to wildlife business regulations, the illegal sale, purchase or transport of second-class protected animals carries a fine of ten times the animal's value, and in more serious cases, it may even be considered a felony.
Qin Huina, chairman of the Capital Animal Welfare Association, is calling for a more aggressive protection of China's wildlife. "I am opposed to eating any kind of wild animals. Some can even cause diseases. Breeding should only be used for the purpose of better protection, not for commercial use. The government should legislate a prohibition on selling wild animals, including those raised on farms. Issuing per-mits for legal sales is very likely to lead to a loophole," Qin told the Global Times.
He Yong, division director of the media center from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in China also strongly opposes the sale of wild animals in any way.
"There are quite a few loopholes in wildlife protection laws in China. To preserve ecological diversity, laws should be made to prohibit any kind of use of wild animals," said He.
(Bron: http://www.globaltimes.cn/)
(Bron foto: Global Times)
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