Tigers Killed In China To Entertain Business People

Tigers are being brutally killed in China to entertain business people and officials and display social stature, according to a report in The Guardian, translating from China's Nanfang Daily. The animals, an endangered species, are made sure they are alive before they are slaughtered before an audience, then the tiger bones are distributed to the crowd. Police in the port city of Zhanjiang seized a slaughtered tiger and multiple tiger products in a raid this month, likely connected to this disturbing trend.

Local officials and prominent businesspeople gathered to watch the tigers being killed as "eye-openers" to show off their social stature, it said. Video footage of a killing two years ago showed the tiger, kept in an iron cage, having an electrified iron mass prodded into its mouth with a wooden stick and passing out after being electrocuted for more than 10 seconds, the paper said.

Tiger meat and bones are incredibly valuable in the country, and are often given as gifts to officials. Many also believe tiger products like tiger paw have healing properties.