A shocking news went viral on social media: 20 Siberian tigers, 2 African lions, 3 giraffes and other rare wild animals have died one after another.
The zoo tragedy instantly sparked widespread concern and outrage.
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Where do these rare animals come from? Why do they die one after another? What is the explanation of the zoo side? This makes one wonder, what is going on?
There are many mysteries
The prelude to this zoo tragedy begins on May 10, 2023. On the same day, a reporter named "Chinese philanthropist" visited the Fuyang Wildlife Park and found some disturbing circumstances: the carcasses of dead wild animal cubs were still frozen in freezers, while the carcasses of adult Siberian tigers, African lions, giraffes and other animals were stacked in a 10-square-meter cold room waiting for further processing.
During the interview, the reporter was surprised to find that the zoo staff actually claimed that "the tiger that died unnaturally on the Internet 'is not from our zoo, but from another boss, and we don't know what's going on, and we are learning about the specific situation'." It's a puzzling statement: who do these dead animals belong to? Why don't zoos know much about this? Are these deaths really unrelated to them?
What is even more disturbing is that, according to the previous report of "Chinese Philanthropist", Fuyang Wildlife Park still has problems such as illegal display and performance without obtaining an artificial breeding license, and artificial breeding of Siberian tigers, a national first-class protected animal. This undoubtedly casts a shadow over the zoo's legitimacy.
Behind the contradictions
Behind the investigation of this zoo tragedy, we have to mention the management rights dispute that this zoo has been involved in from the beginning.
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. and others to jointly establish Qicai Company to operate the Fuyang Wildlife Park. According to the agreement, Ziqing is responsible for landscaping, animal cages, etc., while Zhirun is responsible for investing in ornamental animals and their performances.
However, due to the subsequent operation and equity issues, there were many conflicts between the two parties. According to the report, Li Lianghua's Tengfei company pointed out that it was precisely because of the dispute over the management rights of the zoo that the park stopped paying employees' wages and drove away all the technical backbones it had trained, resulting in the zoo's water and electricity outages, and eventually causing wild animals to either die of hunger and thirst, or be weak and sick, shortening their lives.
Pan Zhichao, the legal representative of Ziqing Company, denied this, saying that Tengfei Company had nothing to do with the zoo and was currently "maliciously occupying" Fuyang Wildlife Park. This is the epitome of contradictions.
It can be said that the root cause of this zoo tragedy lies in the vicious entanglement between these stakeholders. The tragic outcome of the unscrupulous struggle for control by all parties for their own business interests ultimately led to this tragic result.
Not only that, according to the information of Tianyancha, this colorful company itself has a number of problems with the freezing of the person subject to execution and equity, and has also been listed as a dishonest person subject to execution by the court many times due to arrears of project payments and performance fees. This undoubtedly cast a shadow over the operation of the zoo.
The official response was swift
In this incident, which shocked public opinion, the local government also reacted quickly.
On the afternoon of May 13, the Information Office of the Fuyang Municipal People's Government issued the "Circular on the Public Opinion on the Online Public Opinion of the Private Zoo in Yingdong District Involving the Death of Wild Animals", saying that the Fuyang Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government attach great importance to it and decide to set up an investigation team led by the responsible comrades of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter, and announce the follow-up investigation and disposal to the public in a timely manner.
The circular also emphasized that Fuyang City will resolutely protect all kinds of wild animals in accordance with laws and regulations, severely punish illegal and criminal acts that endanger wild animals, and seriously hold relevant responsible personnel accountable, so as to build a solid protective barrier for wild animals.
This official announcement undoubtedly sends a strong signal that the local government will not tolerate this heinous zoo tragedy. They will thoroughly investigate the truth of the incident with the strictest standards and attitudes, and severely punish the relevant responsible persons in accordance with the law, so as to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of wild animals.
What the hell happened to these animals?
Regarding this incident, netizens also discussed a lot and raised many questions about various doubts.
First of all, where did these rare animals such as Siberian tigers, African lions, and giraffes come from? Some netizens staggered, "Many zoo animals are their tools for making profits, and these poor animals are locked up in palm-sized cement houses every day, hungry to the bone." Could it be that the same is true of Fuyang Safari Park?
As for the zoo's explanation that "the tiger that died unnaturally on the Internet is not ours", netizens are also questioning: "The boss behind it has evaded inspections again and again, and he can still operate, and it is estimated that there are also interests with the local area."
In fact, according to previous reports, Fuyang Wildlife Park still has problems such as unauthorized display and performance without obtaining relevant permits, and artificial breeding of Siberian tigers, a national first-class protected animal. This undoubtedly casts a shadow over the zoo's legitimacy. Some netizens bluntly said, "I have raised so many Siberian tigers to death, I hope to investigate thoroughly, animals are also lives, not tools for profit."
What is disturbing is that before this, many tourists have reported various problems at the zoo, such as "the water that the tigers drink is stinky and green", "there is nothing to see, it is very pitted", "I see that the animals inside have nothing to eat and lose their hair, and the carnivores are gnawing on the bark and eating garbage". This makes one wonder if there is a long-term problem of animal cruelty in zoos. Legal accountability is urgent
In the face of this heinous zoo tragedy, many netizens have called for a serious investigation and the relevant responsible persons will be held accountable in accordance with the law. So, how exactly can we pursue legal responsibility for this incident?
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 as an unnatural death in practice. Unless there is evidence that the animal has been abused for a long time, such as continuous surveillance video proving that the animal was not fed or violently beaten, the keeper can easily identify the death of natural causes such as death from old age or disease, and thus escape responsibility.
However, if the investigation finds that the Fuyang Wildlife Park has been detaining national first-class wild animals in an environment that seriously lacks necessary space for activities, it is likely to constitute abuse and is suspected of violating the Wildlife Protection Law. This is because the law clearly stipulates that captive-bred wild animals shall ensure that they have the necessary space for activities, habitat, reproduction, and hygienic and hygienic conditions.
What's even more disturbing is that, according to previous reports, Fuyang Wildlife Park still has problems such as illegal display and performance, artificial breeding of Siberian tigers, a national first-class protected animal, without obtaining an artificial breeding license. This is undoubtedly a serious violation of the law, and the criminal responsibility of those responsible must be investigated in accordance with the law.
Li further pointed out that the purpose of artificial breeding of wild animals should be to protect wild animals and let them be gradually released into the wild. However, in reality, many projects to breed wild animals artificially are for profit, and whether or not to release them into the wild depends entirely on the personal wishes of the leaders. This phenomenon needs to change urgently.
Therefore, in this zoo tragedy, if the investigation finds that there are indeed illegal acts such as animal cruelty and illegal breeding, not only the units involved and their relevant responsible persons must bear criminal responsibility in accordance with the law, but the local competent authorities should also bear the corresponding regulatory responsibility. Only in this way can we truly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of wild animals and prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.
Doubts to be further clarified
Although the official has set up an investigation team and stated that it will deal with it seriously, there are still some doubts in this zoo tragedy that need to be further clarified:
First, where do these rare animals come from? Some netizens questioned that many zoo animals are kept in captivity for profit and suffer from severe restrictions on the living environment. So, do the animals in Fuyang Safari Park also fall into this category?
Second, the zoo's explanation for the death was questionable. They claimed that "the tiger that died unnaturally on the Internet is not ours", but at the same time admitted that they were "learning about the specific situation". This begs the question, are these deaths really irrelevant to them?
Thirdly, many visitors have reported various problems in the zoo before, such as "the water that the tigers drink is stinky and green", "I see that the animals inside have nothing to eat and lose their hair, and the carnivores are gnawing on the bark and eating garbage". Does this mean that zoos have a long-standing problem of animal cruelty?
Fourth, this Fuyang Wildlife Park actually has problems such as unauthorized display and performance without obtaining relevant permits, and artificial breeding of Siberian tigers, which are national first-class protected animals. What kind of regulatory loopholes are there that make this zoo so reckless?
All kinds of suspicions followed, adding a bit of confusion to this zoo tragedy. What's going on? What is the truth? It is believed that under the comprehensive investigation of the authorities, these mysteries will eventually be solved one by one.
Let's wait and see what the final results of the official investigation will be. At the same time, let us also call for severe punishment for illegal and criminal acts that endanger wild animals, so that these animals can be properly protected.
#20只东北虎非正常死, the official survey, tourists see gnawing on the bark