Fisherman caught butchering the endangered sea turtle caught near Shanhai village in Guangdong. (Photo : qq.com)
A video of a fisherman killing a leatherback turtle that weighs more than 200 kilograms has become viral on social media since Tuesday.
The video was taken in South Guangdong Province, and experts said that it was just an example of the rampant killing of endangered animals in China.
Guangdong Province’s Marine and Fishery Department made a statement to the Global Times last Thursday stating that they are already investigating the killing of the second-class state-protected animal.
The viral video shows the turtle being butchered near the seaside of Shanhai Village. Locals are clamoring on the turtle’s meat at the price of 140 yuan per kilogram. The meat was said to have sold out in just two hours and the seller profited 20,000 yuan in total.
The World Wide Fund for Nature said: “The population of leatherback has been dwindling precipitously in the Pacific over the last 20 years, and as few as 2,300 adult females are left.”
They also reported in 2015 that China’s terrestrial vertebrates have declined by half since 1970 due to over-hunting and illegal human activities.
Besides sea turtles, there are also many state-protected animals that are at risk of being killed in China. Just last April, there are about 100 scalloped hammerhead sharks spotted in a fish market in Sanya being sold at 30 yuan per kilogram.
Sun Quanhui, a senior scientific adviser at the International NGO World Animal Protection, said: “What we saw in the media is just a tip of the iceberg. Dietary traditions should be blamed for misleading people to believe in the medical value of wildlife. For instance, many are convinced that wild animals’ meat can cure diseases.”
China’s Criminal Law mandates that people who hunt and kill endangered state-protected animals could face punishment of 10 years’ minimum in jail and fines. Those who purchase these animals aren’t exempted, as they may also be sentenced, in special serious circumstances, to more than 10 years.
