YICHANG, Hubei Province, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Local
police and forestry authorities are investigating a rare Siberian tiger
slaughter case at a zoo in central China's Hubei Province, promising a reward to
clew providers.
A female Siberian tiger was found killed Thursday
morning at the Three Gorges Forest Wild Animal World, and its head, legs and
skin were missing, Du Zhihu, deputy director of the Forestry Bureau of Yichang
City, told Xinhua Saturday afternoon.
An investigation task force has been set up to ferret
out the slaughter or slaughterers, and the case has been reported to the state
forestry police authorities, according to Zhou Liping, the forestry police chief
of Yichang, where the zoo is located.
Zhou did not reveal details of the investigation
findings and how much money a clew provider may get.
However, media reports quoted an insider with the
investigation as saying that the locks of the tiger cage and the door of the
tiger room were broken and the police also found four self-made anesthetic
rifles near the cage.
"It is highly possible that the killer or killers
broke into the room, anesthetized the tiger, opened the cage and then dragged
the animal out of the room and butchered it," said the unnamed insider.
"This was cruel and professional slaughter," said the
insider, citing the tiger's skin was peeled off as a whole and the limbs were
chopped off from the knees.
According to Du Zhihu, the remains of the tiger, aged
between six and seven, was found by a zoo keeper who was cleaning the road at
around 7:30 on Thursday.
The zoo immediately reported the case to the police
and forestry authorities.
"The Siberian tiger is a key species under state
protection and the criminals will be severely punished," said Liu Xinxian, head
of the forestry bureau in Yichang.
According to China's law, killer of endangered and
rare wild animals will be given at most above ten-year imprisonment.
Covering about 40 hectares in Yiling District of
Yichang, the Three Gorges Forest Wild Animal World, some 14 km from the city
center, opened to visitors in 2002. It is home to more than 100 species of wild
animals including 16 Siberian tigers.
Siberian tigers, among the world's 10 most endangered
species, mostly live in northeast China and the Far East area of Russia. Of the
400 estimated to live in the wild, only 10 to 17 live in China.
To protect the rare tigers from extinction, China
established breeding bases in several provinces with the largest in Harbin,
capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, which now has more than 800
Siberian tigers in captivity.
