Recently, the "Chinese Philanthropist" reporter found that Anhui Fuyang Wildlife Park illegally exhibited and artificially bred the Siberian tiger, a national first-class protected animal, without obtaining an artificial breeding license. What is even more shocking is that due to the impact of the dispute over the management rights of the zoo, a large number of wild animals have died, including 20 Siberian tigers, 2 African lions, 3 giraffes and other rare wild animals.
At present, there are 16 Siberian tigers, African lions, giraffes, black bears and other animals alive in the park, which have been locked in transportation cages for a long time, with a small space and worrying survival conditions.
In Fuyang Wildlife Park, a Siberian tiger has been locked up in a "small black room" for a long time.
01
The park was not built, and the animals came first
Fuyang Wildlife Park is a private zoo, operated by Anhui Colorful Wildlife Park Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Colorful Company). According to the publicity materials of the zoo, the zoo is part of the key investment promotion project of the Yingdong District Government of Fuyang City, "Colorful Yingdong Impression Pastoral", with a total land area of more than 1,200 acres, with herbivore area, beast stocking area, red panda island, etc. In addition, there is a "family of animals" area where lions, tigers, leopards, lambs, rabbits, dogs and other animal cubs are grouped together; There is a special riding road for tourists in the park, where visitors can ride elephants, horses, camels, etc.; In the Sea Beast Interactive Hall, you can also enjoy animal performances such as sea lions.
In May 2018, the local media in Fuyang City reported on the title of "Fuyang Safari Park will be settled in Yingdong", which mentioned that "the Fuyang Safari Park project is undergoing construction drawing design and will be tendered for construction".
Fuyang Daily reported on November 14, 2018 that three days ago, Fuyang Wildlife Park welcomed the first batch of 12 giraffes into the park. Subsequently, a number of media reported that "Fuyang Wildlife Park will enter the first phalanx of national wildlife parks, and it is the largest and most diverse wildlife park in northern Anhui." According to reports, before the Spring Festival in 2018, the wild walking area of Fuyang Wildlife Park was opened to the public; On May 1 of the following year, the car viewing area was opened.
From the timeline shown in the media report, it can be seen that it took only half a year from the drawing design to the bidding, the start of construction, and then to the first batch of animals entering the park. "Chinese Philanthropist" learned from the Forestry Bureau of Yingdong District, Fuyang City, that the construction process of Fuyang Wildlife Park was not smooth, and the construction was suspended for nearly two years due to land use problems. At that time, the "semi-finished" park was far from meeting the environmental standards required for the survival of wild animals, and there was no way to talk about supporting facilities. In this case, the zoo hastily brought in 12 giraffes, and one died unnaturally soon after.
"At first, the investors and the media did not know that the land on which the zoo was built was farmland, and the procedures were incomplete until the land department discovered the problem during a routine inspection once a year, which directly led to the suspension of the zoo's construction." The relevant person in charge of the Forestry Bureau of Yingdong District admitted to reporters that the opening time reported by the media before was only the time planned by the park, but the actual opening time was May 1, 2021.
Fuyang Wildlife Park is located in Yingdong District, and there are almost no tourists on weekdays.
But in any case, before the zoo was built, the animals were already here.
In April 2018, Qicai Company signed a contract with Fuyang Tengfei Domestication Exhibition Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tengfei Company), and Tengfei Company transferred 33 Siberian tigers, 5 African lions, 11 black bears, 3 camels and other animals to Qicai Company at a total price of 2.543 million yuan. According to Li Lianghua, the legal representative of Tengfei, in April 2019, when Tengfei transported 25 tigers from Shanghai to Fuyang, it found that the construction of the zoo had stopped. "As soon as I saw that the environment was not suitable for Siberian tigers to survive, I didn't dare to transport other Siberian tigers over." Li Lianghua said.
02
Zoos that do not have the conditions
In China, tigers are the flagship species of wildlife protection, and according to regulations, the domestication and breeding of national first-class protected wild animals must be submitted to the Ministry of Forestry for approval, and second-class protected wild animals are subject to the approval of provincial forestry administrative departments.
As early as September 11, 2018, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) issued a decision not to grant permission to Qicai on the grounds that it "does not have the appropriate sites and facilities for artificial breeding of Siberian tigers, Asian elephants and Bengal tigers," according to a document obtained by China Philanthropist.
On September 11, 2018, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration refused to issue an administrative license to Qicai.
This means that the Fuyang Wildlife Park, a subsidiary of Qicai Company, has been illegally exhibiting and artificially breeding Siberian tigers for many years without obtaining the qualification of artificial breeding license.
On May 10, the reporter saw in the "beast stocking area" of Fuyang Wildlife Park that there were still many Siberian tigers and lions pacing back and forth in the cage for tourists to watch.
Some people also gave different explanations about the illegal breeding of Siberian tigers. A staff member of the Natural Resources Supervision Department of the Fuyang Forestry Bureau told reporters that the tigers in the zoo do not belong to the park, but to the qualified Tengfei company that cooperates with the park. After the expiration of the cooperation in 2022, Tengfei has not moved the tiger away.
On May 9, 2023 and March 28, 2024, respectively, the Forestry Bureau of Yingdong District issued rectification notices to Tengfei Company, pointing out that the company's animal patrol and maintenance personnel were insufficient, and the inspection density was insufficient; The management of animal ledger archives is not standardized and sound; The existing conditions of animal artificial breeding sites do not meet the relevant provisions of the Provincial Forestry Bureau's issuance of artificial breeding licenses.
Tengfei has cooperated with Shanghai Wild Animal Park for a long time to carry out Siberian tiger performances. In 2021, the Shanghai Forestry Bureau imposed an administrative penalty on Shanghai Wild Animal Park Development Co., Ltd. for "using the Siberian tiger, a national first-class key protected wild animal, of Fuyang Tengfei Domestication Exhibition Co., Ltd. without authorization in 2018 and 2020, and the performance did not go through the administrative licensing procedures in accordance with the law", and confiscated more than 260,000 yuan of its illegal income.
03
Existential crisis
On May 1, 2021, Fuyang Wildlife Park began trial operation. At that time, because the adult ticket price of 98 yuan a piece still caused a lot of controversy. It has been pointed out that adult tickets for the provincial capital Hefei Wildlife Park are only 35 yuan.
In this regard, the park responded that Fuyang Wildlife is a private zoo, self-funded, no government investment, and no subsidies, many animals are imported from abroad, animals eat and drink a lot of money, operating costs are relatively high.
Adult wildlife carcasses are stacked in this freezer, which is about 10 square meters.
An investigation by a reporter from "Chinese Philanthropist" found that not only 20 tigers died in Fuyang Wildlife Park, but also a large number of other wild animals died unnaturally, and these dead wild animals also belonged to Tengfei Company.
According to the data provided by Tengfei to reporters, from October 2019 to March 2023, a total of 10 Siberian tigers died, and from June 2020 to August 2023, a total of 11 tiger cubs were born, and only one survived; In May 2021 and August 2023, a total of 2 African lions died; 1 adult giraffe died in 2019, and 2 giraffes born in 2023 have also died; There are also macaques and other small body animals that also die in varying numbers.
On May 10, a reporter from "Chinese Philanthropist" visited Fuyang Wildlife Park and found that the corpses of dead wild animal cubs are still stored in the freezer, while the carcasses of adult Siberian tigers, African lions, giraffes, black bears and other animals are stacked in a refrigerator of about 10 square meters, waiting to be processed.
A freezer for storing the carcasses of young animals.
What is even more worrying is that even the surviving wild animals are facing a survival crisis, and animal welfare is out of the question. The reporter saw at the scene that a number of black bears were kept in a small iron cage all year round, and the hair on the top of their heads had been worn off by the iron cage, exposing their scalps, and one of the black bears was paralyzed by quadriplegia due to their inability to move in a small space all year round. Some of the 16 Siberian tigers still alive in the zoo are kept in iron cages of about 1.5 meters and kept outdoors for several years. There are also Siberian tigers and African lions who are kept in dark bungalows, and the living conditions are extremely harsh.
When it was opened, it seemed to be a huge zoo, but why did it come to this?
04
The battle for management rights affects animals
From the very beginning, Fuyang Wildlife Park has been mired in a dispute over management rights, and this dispute over management rights is the cause of all problems.
In February 2018, Fuyang Ziqing Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Ziqing Company) signed a "Partnership Investment Agreement" with Shanghai Zhirun Tourism Investment Co., Ltd., to build the Fuyang Wildlife Park project on the basis of the "Colorful Yingdong Impression Pastoral" project, and establish a colorful company to operate the park. Zhirun Company and Tengfei Company are both legal persons, both of which are Li Lianghua.
According to the agreement, Ziqing Company is responsible for landscaping, animal cages, animal isolation and quarantine farms, veterinary hospitals, etc., accounting for 55% of the total share capital. Zhirun Company is responsible for investing in all exhibited ornamental animals (purchase and lease) and performance animals, animal husbandry and performance technology in the park, accounting for 45% of the total share capital.
However, in December 2019, Ziqing signed an agreement with Zhirun and the newly established Qicai Company in Fuyang, and Zhirun Company withdrew from Fuyang and Fuyang Ziqing Company independently operated Fuyang Wildlife Park. The carcasses of 11 giraffes and one dead giraffe, which were purchased in the name of Qicai Company and funded by Zhirun Company, were required to be removed by the end of March 2020.
Subsequently, the two sides disagreed and confronted each other twice in court. Li Lianghua, the legal representative of Zhirun, said that the above-mentioned agreement involving the transfer of equity was invalid and requested the court to revoke it. In the end, the court ruled that the agreement was valid in both the first instance and the second instance.
According to the Yingdong District Forestry Bureau, Li Lianghua was reluctant to quit after learning that the zoo had been halted due to land problems. After the land formalities were resolved, Li Lianghua wanted the court to determine that the equity transfer was invalid and wanted to get back 45% of the zoo's shares.
Li Lianghua told The Chinese Philanthropist that he was "forced to sign an agreement" and that there was no word for "equity transfer" in the agreement at that time, and that "assisting in the relevant formalities is not equivalent to transferring ownership".
Qicai believes that Li Lianghua has withdrawn from the ranks of shareholders, so the animals belonging to Tengfei Company should be moved out of the zoo. In 2019, Qicai Company issued several "reminder letters" to Tengfei Company, and claimed that Tengfei Company had transported some animals (including fierce animals such as lions and tigers) into cages that had not yet been accepted and domesticated in Fuyang Wildlife Park without the permission of Qicai Company. Ask Ascendas to remove all animals from the park within 15 days.
However, in August 2020, Qicai Company signed the "Animal Lease Contract" with Tengfei Company, and Tengfei Company provided wild animals worth about 3.6 million yuan to Qicai Company for business performances, with an annual rent of 1.6 million yuan and a cooperation period of 3 years.
The living environment of animals in Fuyang Wildlife Park is worrying, and the picture shows two African lions locked in a dimly lit room.
On May 1, 2021, Fuyang Wildlife Park was put into trial operation. On the same day, Qicai Company and Tengfei Company had a dispute over the use of animals, and the two sides were deadlocked. Ascendas refuses to release tigers, lions, giraffes and other wild animals from their cages for visitors to show. A large number of visitors who have made reservations to come to the park are unaware, and if they can't see these star animals that have been advertised for a long time, it is likely to cause dissatisfaction among tourists.
As a last resort, the two parties re-signed the "Animal Lease Agreement" under the mediation and witness of the Yingdong District Forestry Bureau and the police of the police station under the jurisdiction of the district, with a rent of 3 million yuan a year. But on the payment method, the two sides disagreed again. Seeing more and more tourists coming one after another, the park began to panic. Subsequently, the staff forcibly opened the cages of the beasts and released them into their fixed performance areas, which further intensified the conflict between the two sides.
Regarding the death of wild animals in the park, the relevant person in charge of the Yingdong District Forestry Bureau said that part of the reason is that these tigers are inbred, have bad genes, and are prone to disease; There are also some tigers who are old and frail and die a normal death.
Li Lianghua said that because of the dispute over the management rights of the zoo, the park stopped paying employees' salaries and drove away all the technical backbones that they had carefully cultivated, and the zoo cut off water and electricity, resulting in wild animals either dying of hunger and thirst, or being weak and sick, and their life expectancy was shortened.
Pan Zhichao, the legal representative of Qicai Company, denied this, saying that Tengfei Company has nothing to do with the zoo and is currently "maliciously occupying" Fuyang Wildlife Park.
05
How to hold accountable
Li Enze, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center of Beijing Yipai Law Firm, pointed out that the death of domesticated and bred wild animals is difficult to characterize in practice, and once the keeper determines that the death of natural causes such as death from old age or disease, it is difficult to pursue responsibility, unless there is evidence that the animal has been abused for a long time, such as continuous surveillance video to prove that the animal was not fed or violently beaten. Only when they have relevant evidence can public interest organizations file public interest lawsuits, and people can also file complaints with the competent forestry bureau or the National Forestry and Grassland Administration if they have relevant clues.
He further pointed out that the purpose of artificial breeding of wild animals under national key protection is to protect wild animals, so they should be gradually released into nature in the process of breeding and utilization, so as to benefit biodiversity. However, many of the current artificial wildlife breeding projects are for profit, and whether or not to release them into the wild is entirely up to the personal will of the leader, and this phenomenon needs to be changed urgently.
The Law on the Protection of Wild Animals clearly states that artificially bred wild animals shall, in accordance with the habits of wild animals, ensure that they have the necessary space for activities, habitat and reproduction, health and health conditions, have places, facilities and technologies suitable for their breeding purposes, types and development scales, meet relevant technical standards and epidemic prevention requirements, and must not abuse wild animals. Based on this, Li Enze believes that if Fuyang Wildlife Park keeps national first-class wild animals in cages for a long time and does not give them the necessary space to move, it is an abusive act and has been suspected of violating the law. At present, a large number of Siberian tigers, African lions and other wild animals have been killed, and further investigation is needed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Source: China Philanthropist Magazine (Wen Rujun). China News Network
Original title: "Investigation|The Death of 20 Siberian Tigers"