Man jailed for eating rare tiger

Man jailed for eating rare tiger

Fewer than 1,800 Indochinese tigers are thought to be living in the wild
A Chinese man has been jailed for 12 years for killing and eating a rare Indochinese tiger.

Kang Wannian, a villager from the southern province of Yunnan, said he had encountered the tiger while out fishing, and killed it in self-defence.

The animal may have been China's only wild Indochinese tiger, which is on the brink of extinction.

Four other men were jailed for sharing the tiger meal and covering up the incident.

Endangered species

Kang was confronted by the tiger in February while gathering freshwater clams in a nature reserve near China's border with Laos.

He said he shot the animal after dark and claimed that, at the time, he did not know it was an endangered Indochinese tiger.

According to local media, Kang was sentenced to 10 years for killing a rare animal plus two years for illegal possession of firearms.

The court in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, also ordered him to pay a fine of 480,000 yuan ($70,000; £44,000).

Fewer than 1,800 Indochinese tigers are thought to be living in the wild, in the forests of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma.

The only known wild Indochinese tiger in China was photographed in 2007 at the same reserve that Kang visited.

The tiger has not been seen since Kang's meal, and there is speculation that Kang could have eaten the last one.
news.bbc.co.uk...


Is it just me or does it seem these people will eat anything? seriously,the wider phenomenon of consuming endangered animals is global.Africans either love (or need) "bush meat." Apparently you can go to town markets and find things like gorilla meat, chimp meat, Rhino meat. I don't know were the conspiracy is here but I can say,if we do not change our ways we could end up like Easter Islanders.What a shame.

I don't see the problem with what he did, if indeed it "attacked him". Once you go human, you don't go back. I mean he ate it, shared it, these people sound like they're hungry. It's not like he skinned it and left it to rot.
People in africa are the poorest, most malnourished in the world. It's absolutely rediculous to suppose that they have a moral obligation to turn down food of any sort.
Remember, the more animals you kill, the less co2 is being realeased into the atmosphere

edit: I see that he "confronted" it. Well, maybe he should've been punished, but I think the punishment is definately too harsh either way. Poachers should definately get jail time like that, but not those who eat their kill.

[edit on 27-12-2009 by heyo]

Well all I can say is that even though I have internet and TV and all sorts of other information I wouldn't know one tiger or big cat from another, and if I thought it was gonna attack me I really wouldn't care. If I had a gun I would shoot first and find out later.

Much as I love wildlife, I put myself first.

Now this guy may not have the wealth of knowledge on these matters that we take for granted so maybe he was completely unaware of this particular species' fragility.

Its a shame, but tbh one animal out of 1800 ain't gonna make a lot of difference one way or the other.

I would say his punishment is harsh, unless it can be shown he set out to trap the animal.

As for eating it, np.... waste not want not.

Yeah I agree.. if it really did attack him, I don't see anything wrong with defending himself.. He ate the tiger, it's dead anyway..

Usually what get's me irritated are those people who actively look for those endangered species to consume for some asinine health reason.. Like this one time I was watching a local documentary, and some fishermen are killing dolphins and eating them because they think it helps their sexual mojo or whatever..

And this one going after giant turtles saying it taste good, a lot better than small fish, also helps with mojo..

Wow.. what the hell kind of reasoning is that ?

Oh well.. Thanks for the Post OP




[edit on 27-12-2009 by Uesugi Kenshin8]

What else is the guy going to say? I killed the last tiger cause I wanted some meat with my potatoes.Or, yea the thing attacked me.
People are starving all over the world but does this give them a right to kill every living thing around them?this would be foolish, when the last animal is gone what next?Grandpa,the week?
This is why we need to manage our resources or all of us can end up on Easter Island.

reply to post by flyingfish


I couldn't agree with you more buddy. It's just that it's a bit difficult to implicate knowing too little about this guy. If this had been his second or third offense then I would be into the conclusion that he did this on purpose.

Having a gun to take to the river to get some fresh water clams is a bit suspicious though; but then again I'm not from there so I wouldn't know if the path going there is dangerous and is normal for people to bring guns.

I saw that one where they sell monkeys and chimpanzees on this market place somewhere in Africa... pissed me off as well..

There was this video last week of fishermen in japan killing some dolphins; and it really made me sick.

Really disappointed me; as I thought they would be the first to respect nature and animals.

I also saw a documentary on Nat Geo about animals being placed into these wine bottles; it includes some Snakes, Monkeys, a Leopard and a Bear among others. It was really really weird and I felt sorry for the animal.. it was a baby bear..

Anyway we do what we can.. when the buying stops the killings too.
It will be very hard to convince people to stop this, as it is very easy to justify whatever we do.

Like "there's nothing else to eat, it's medicinal or it's for my mojo" or whatever..

Things like this would be best countered by education and condemnation by their own peers.

Real and well funded government projects like Agriculture, Irrigation, Food and Education should go a long way. and I mean real. Not just a publicity stunt or a way to further grab some money.

Originally posted by heyo

Remember, the more animals you kill, the less co2 is being realeased into the atmosphere

[edit on 27-12-2009 by heyo]

the more co2- the more trees- the more oxygen for you to breathe

Originally posted by marsvolta

Originally posted by heyo

Remember, the more animals you kill, the less co2 is being realeased into the atmosphere

[edit on 27-12-2009 by heyo]

the more co2- the more trees- the more oxygen for you to breathe

CO2 is the antichrist.
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!

[edit on 27-12-2009 by heyo]

Originally posted by flyingfish
What else is the guy going to say? I killed the last tiger cause I wanted some meat with my potatoes.Or, yea the thing attacked me.
People are starving all over the world but does this give them a right to kill every living thing around them?this would be foolish, when the last animal is gone what next?Grandpa,the week?
This is why we need to manage our resources or all of us can end up on Easter Island.

the gummnit or whoever manages such matter knew there was only one tiger left so they shoulda taken care of it. apparently they didnt. criminal neglect?

Originally posted by heyo

Originally posted by marsvolta

Originally posted by heyo

Remember, the more animals you kill, the less co2 is being realeased into the atmosphere

[edit on 27-12-2009 by heyo]

the more co2- the more trees- the more oxygen for you to breathe

CO2 is the antichrist.
two.

MSM is antichrist. cliches are boring two. believe me you wouldnt want to live in a desert.

reply to post by marsvolta

Maybe they didn't even know there was even one around, looking at the report sounds like a cover up seeing how his buddy's were charged withholding information.This tells me they new they were up to no good.
By the way this story is not about trees or CO2. For me this is about being a responsible steward seeing how I'm the top of the food chain.It does not take a genius to see if you remove to many links the whole thing can come crashing down, with us taking the big fall.

Originally posted by flyingfish

Maybe they didn't even know there was even one around, looking at the report sounds like a cover up seeing how his buddy's were charged withholding information.This tells me they new they were up to no good.
By the way this story is not about trees or CO2. For me this is about being a responsible steward seeing how I'm the top of the food chain.It does not take a genius to see if you remove to many links the whole thing can come crashing down, with us taking the big fall.

well if the powers in charge didnt know there was only one to begin with, how did they charge the man with killing and eating the only remaining tiger?

I'll bet they was hungry.

I mean imagine you are on a camping trip and a tiger jumps out and gets all kung fu on you.
you shoot its face off.
would you eat it or brag to everyone about it?

But he should be jailed though,everyone knows tiger is best when cooked medium well.waste of good tiger meat.