Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright

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A zoo where 11 rare Siberian tigers recently starved to death is fast becoming a symbol of the mistreatment of animals in China, with allegations of misspent subsidies, bribes, and the deaths of at least dozens of animals.

The local authorities stepped in over the weekend, taking control of the 10-year-old zoo, in Shenyang in northeastern China, and dispatching experts to try to save the remaining 20 or so tigers, three of which are in critical condition.

Among the charges under investigation are employee reports that the zoo used the bones of dead tigers to illegally manufacture a liquor believed to have therapeutic qualities. One employee said he had made vats of the liquor and served it to visiting government officials.

The government action comes after years of troubles at the zoo, the Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo in the capital of Liaoning Province. The zoo’s animal population has declined from a high of more than 1,000 to about half that now.

This would be a good time (again) to donate to Panthera.