Hunting is considered a fun sport in China, especially among the new rich of the nation. However, the rest of the world looks on with accusing eyes, as the activity leads to the slaughtering of millions of animals and birds.
Since the establishment of the hunting ground in Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China in 1984, 10 more followed suit in major provinces in the west part of the country. The nouveau riche is now enamored with the controversial activity.
While other countries do not think this is right, China has laws encompassing and legalizing this activity. According to China's law on the protection of wildlife, "the hunting of national-class protected animals for the purposes of scientific research, domestication and breeding, or exhibition should be approved by wildlife protection authority."
It is also an expensive sport. A hunting ground can charge its members up to 200,000 yuan yearly. Most of the members are private businessmen.
The existence of these hunting grounds, however, is not satisfying the appetite of some hunting enthusiasts. Some hunters only want to watch "wild" animals and have a huge appetite for wildlife. These hunters can land in jail for capturing protected species, as the government prohibits hunting for endangered species or poaching.
Last month, a man received a sentence of 13 years in jail because he purchased and ate three tigers. A group of hunters also accidentally shot dead a villager as they hunt around the forest. This sparked outrage among netizens, who worry for their children's future.
"They are so cruel. If poaching continues, our children will only see these endangered animals in pictures in the future," one netizen wrote on her microblog Sina Weibo account.