A Chinese man who killed a caged and endangered black bear with a machine gun claimed that he did it out of curiosity during a sightseeing tour in Myanmar.
The man said he shot the bear dead after having gained permission from the government in Myanmar’s Wa State, which borders China, according to Beijing News.
The man, whose name has not been revealed, also claimed his weapon had been provided by the local government.
An expert has identified the bear in the video to be an Asiatic black bear, an endangered animal species.
A Chinese man has been caught on camera shooting a caged black bear dead with a machine gun. The shocking video has been widely shared by Chinese web users and sparked an outcry
The man claimed that he was travelling in Wa State in Myanmar as a tourist at the time. He saw that the local government were about to execute the bear, so he asked them if he could shoot it
The man’s shocking behaviour was captured on a video believed to be shot by another tourist in the same group.
The video became widely shared on Chinese social media on December 27 and sparked controversy.
In the video, the man can be heard yelling in a Chinese dialect to the bear, which was kept in a cage: ‘I told you not to open your mouth. Do that again and I would make you surrender.’
He then gave the bear one shot with the gun and the bear fell to the ground.
The video also showed several bear paws lying on the ground near the cage. One man could be seen cutting fur off a dead bear later in the video.
It was initially suggested that the incident occurred in Yunnan Province in China.
The forest police of Yunnan investigated the allegations and claimed that the man in the video is Chinese but the video was filmed in Myanmar, according to Beijing News.
Asiatic black bear is an endangered species and is often illegally traded in Asia. Pictured, a rescued black bear is enjoying a bath at the Animals Asia’s rescue centre in Chengdu, Sichuan
After the video of him killing the bear (left) became viral, a man from China’s Shandong Province claimed responsible for the matter. In a statement (right), he said he was just curious
In an updated report released today by Beijing News, a man from eastern China’s Shandong Province claimed responsible for the matter.
He issued a statement in a video filmed outside a police station. The man claimed that he had just dealt with the matter in the police station.
According to the man, the bear was about to be executed by the local government in Wa State of Myanmar after hurting people.
He said he saw the execution and felt ‘curious’ as a tourist, so he asked if he could kill the bear. He insisted that he had got permission before shooting the bear dead.
The man also claimed that the criticism on social media had brought trouble to his life, therefore he would like to provide an explanation.
He said: ‘Video [of the shooting] was not allowed to be shared. I don’t know which tourist sent the video onto the internet in China. I was condemned by the web users. I would like to clarify the matter.’
At the end of his statement, the man called on the public to protect animals. He said: ‘Take this as a lesson. Protect animals. Start from ourselves.’
It remains unclear whether or not the Chinese authority would bring charges against the man.
The Chinese tourist said he shot the bear dead after having gained permission from the government in Myanmar’s Wa State (above, file photo). The Wa State borders China
Asiatic black bear is also known as moon bear.
The species is listed as Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between governments aimed to protect endangered animals and plants.
Appendix I is the highest category for endangered species, and according to the convention, animals in the category are threatened with extinction.
ILLEGAL BEAR TRADING IN ASIA
A caged bear is raised for bile extraction at a private restaurant in Van Dinh town, Northern province of Ha Tay, 23 November 2006
Asiatic black bear is commonly and illegally traded for their body parts throughout Asia, including Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Jill Robinson MBE, founder of the Animals Asia charity.
Asiatic black bear is also farmed in China and Vietnam for its bile, which is thought to have high medical values.
The bear’s paws, teeth and gall bladders are also desirable as traditional medicine.
Dr Robinson said given that the video shows dissected body parts of the bears, illegal trade could be a possible motive.
She said: ‘I hope the authorities can apprehend and prosecute these vile people responsible for such reprehensible treatment of protected bears.’
Dr Robinson added that Animals Asia has worked with the authorities in China and Vietnam to rescue over 600 bears from being illegally traded.
The rescued bears now enjoy happy and healthy lives at Animals Asia’s sanctuaries in both countries.
‘I consider this a more productive way of protecting animals than shooting them in the head,’ Dr Robinson said.