A thousand tigers who have no drama to play should have a place to live

Jimu News commentator Xu Hanxiong

In suzhou city, Anhui Province, there were more than 400 circuses, and now with the decline of the circus industry, there are thousands of tigers to "smash" in the hands of farmers, can not afford to raise, throw away, "can not die", has become a thorny problem for villagers. (According to the Beijing News on December 6)

As early as 2007, the district was awarded the title of "China's Circus Town" by the China Acrobats Association, and some farmers are circus families who have dealt with tigers for more than 40 years. Circuses still engaged in animal breeding and domestication are mostly concentrated in Taogou Township and Artemisia Township, which are not far away from each other for only two or three kilometers. An ordinary farm yard may be a "regiment". According to the secretary general of the Circus Association of Weiqiao District, according to incomplete statistics, there are still about 1,000 tigers in Weiqiao District. According to the results of the suzhou census, as of July 2019, there were 534 tigers in the district.

Whether it is hundreds or thousands, so many tigers are concentrated in a small area, raised by the people, safety hazards, animal welfare and other aspects, are worrying.

Because abusive animal performances have long been banned, tigers and their products are used for business, and there are strict regulations on the sale, purchase, transportation, and carrying, so that farmers raise tigers "for trouble": it is difficult to obtain income from tigers, and they do not know how to send them away.

The legal doorway is narrow, and some villagers will not hesitate to engage in illegal performances and animal rentals. On May 25 this year, there were two in Nanyang Huaichuan County, Henan. The tiger escaped from the cage and bit a keeper to death, after which both tigers were killed. The Forestry Bureau of Huaichuan County reported that according to the preliminary investigation, the two tigers were owned by a circus in Suzhou City, Anhui Province. According to reports, in September 2021, an Anhui circus broke down and sold dead lions without permission, and 4 lion legs flowed into a vegetable market in Zhejiang, and all 5 people involved in the case were sentenced. According to the judgment document network, a number of cases of lion and tiger trading and smuggling are from the Wanqiao District of Suzhou City, Anhui Province.

This kind of phenomenon is worrying. Since 2018, a number of legal circuses in Wanqiao District have jointly appealed to the forestry department several times to save the performing animals.

Suzhou Municipal CPPCC once proposed in the article "Historical Inheritance and Industrial Development of Circus in Wanqiao" that through the establishment of a special fund for the development of the circus industry, the investment mechanism to support the circus industry will be improved by means of loan discounts, performance venue rental subsidies, performance incentive subsidies, business environment transformation and excellent brand project incentives. This is probably far from water can not quench the near thirst.

At present, the Forestry Bureau of Wanqiao District gives farmers a monthly subsidy of about 750 yuan per animal, which is not enough for tigers to fill their stomachs. The cost of breeding has become a heavy burden, and the breeding of tigers and the aftermath are difficult to properly dispose of.

Local people said that a more feasible method is led by the forestry administration to verify the number of animals and their identities, and to manage and distribute them in a unified manner. There are also zoos that have the qualifications to raise and breed wild animals and want to adopt tigers, but farmers cannot obtain transportation permits and cannot transport tigers out. "As long as the tiger can be transported away, we can recover some of the losses, and it is also a good home for the tiger."

These voices should be heard and given prominence. Tigers are precious protected animals, and because some farmers cannot afford to raise tigers, the health of some tigers is worrying. Whether it is from the perspective of protecting tigers, a precious resource, or protecting the production and living safety of local people, these tigers should be properly placed.

Either give policy to farmers find a way out for tigers, or provide resource assistance. In any case, these tigers who have lost the performance market should help them exit the market and find a receiver to settle down. This is responsible for tigers, but also for humans.

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