The Secret Farm Where Tiger Wine Is Made

[DeSwiss]

Exposed: Dark secret of the farm where tigers' bodies are plundered to make £185 wine

Daily Mail
By Richard Jones In Guilin, China
Last updated at 11:05 PM on 20th February 2010


Dying breed: One of the emaciated tigers in a cage at the Xiongshen Tiger and Bear Mountain
Village in Guilin, China


Behind rusted bars, a skeletal male tiger lies panting on the filthy concrete floor of his cage, covered in sores and untreated wounds. His once-fearsome body is so emaciated it is little more than a pitiful pile of fur and bones. Death is surely a matter of days away and can only come as a welcome release. Wardens at the wildlife park in southwest China say, indifferently, that they do not expect him to see the start of the Year of the Tiger which began last Sunday.

'What can we do?' a female park official asks a small huddle of visitors with a sigh and a casual shrug. 'He's dying, of course, but we have to keep feeding him until he does. It's against the law to kill tigers.'

Instead, it seems, they die slowly of neglect. In row after row of foul, cramped cages, more tigers lie alone, crippled and dying. One is hunched up against the side of its cage with its neck grotesquely deformed. Another, blinded in one eye, lies motionless. This shabby, rundown park in Guilin - one of China's main tourist cities - is home to the world's biggest single collection of tigers. Yet it is never included on foreigners' tour itineraries.

For here, 1,500 captive tigers - around half as many as there are thought to be remaining in the wild - live out miserable lives in squalid conditions. Each tiger costs around £6 a day to feed, and it is easy to see that the small clusters of visitors paying £7.50 each to wander around the cages and watch bizarre animal shows cannot possibly cover even the cost of food for the vast park.

The reason is the tigers, mostly Siberian, are far more valuable dead than alive. For a 55lb pile of bones from a single tiger can be worth up to £225,000. There is a hugely lucrative trade in the skeletons at the Guilin park.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252500/Exposed-Dark-secret-farm-tigers-bodies-plundered-make-185-wine.html">MORE

- And so the Chinese are "upset" with we Americans, because President Obama chose to meet with the Dali Lama are they? All the while they aid and abet ignorant folkways and magical cures based upon ancient myths (not to mention the GREED), and yet which are destroying these beautiful animals. In secrecy. More than 1500 tigers like this!

I have no adequate words to describe my revulsion for these barbaric acts, nor for the assholes who allow this to happen......
==============================================================================
DeSwiss


http://www.atheisttoolbox.com/">The Atheist Toolbox


"Conformity: This process is seen when people unconsciously incorporate the normative beliefs and thought processes of their society
and experience them as their own. This allows them to avoid genuine free thinking, which is likely to be anxiety provoking." ~ Erich Fromm

[Electric Monk]

1. WTF??? I'm speechless.

[Liberal_in_LA]

104. OMG! Horrible. Sick

[Barack_America]

2. I can only rec this. I can read no further.

I had no idea.

:cry:

[HillbillyBob]

4. same

nt

[Divine Discontent]

27. one of those times I wish I hadn't. It's grotesque and barbarous.

they treat the orphan human females even worse than this, to boot.

[KittyWampus]

40. last time I felt this way was when I clicked on a thread about capturing dolphins.

[hlthe2b]

93. This is going to haunt me for quite a while...

Damn... how helpless (and useless) I feel reading this. Ashamed to be human....

[Maru Kitteh]

56. I had to stop too.

[Maraya1969]

69. I can barely read it either. What I want to know is how to we help fix it?

Is there an organization trying to stop this practice? I am asking if someone has the fortitude that I do not to try and find an organization where we can all donate to have this thing stopped. I am sick.

[Orrex]

3. And to think I was upset about his 15 mistresses

Pretty fucking disgusting. If there's any doubt about which animal is the worst on the planet, there really shouldn't be.


K/R for sheer horror.

[BurtWorm]

5. Horrible.

Hard not to feel helpless against this.

[BeatleBoot]

6. Terrible!

I wonder what PETA would say to this?

I mean I know they would be against the treatment of these poor tigers.

[comrade snarky]

7. I can think of something to feed those tigers

Or someone

[GoddessOfGuinness]

72. +1,000

[YOY]

8. The one thing that I find so rediculous about these Chinese traditional medicines...

They're almost allway about male potency. It looks like the Tiger is no exception according to the story.

They do know about viagra, do they not? Just pathetic...

Amazing that they are willing to control the Panda population like they have a patent but screw all other living things.

[flvegan]

9. Boltcutters and balaclavas.

Tranq 'em and yank 'em.

Then, visit every store selling "tiger wine" with an aluminum softball TPX.

If I were a rich man...

[Orrex]

10. Baklava?!? This is no time to chat about pastries!!!!

[flvegan]

11. Pasties? This is no time to chat about nipple covers!

[YOY]

12. Patsies? Would you two quit talking about Oswald and Bush!

n/t

[Orrex]

13. Oswald and Bush? I was talking about Cline and Kensit!

[flvegan]

14. Pansies? In the winter? Foolish to even think about.

[YOY]

16. Panties? Victoria's Secret has it's top sales in the winter. Wonder if they sell ski masks though.

Cos ski masks would really help you to break in with those boltcutters....far more than wearing panties on your head.

[carlyhippy]

38. LOL! You guys.............. I feel so sorry for these beautiful creatures, this is terrible.

Carly

[a la izquierda]

43. thank you for that series of exchanges...

which brought a smile to my tear-streaked face.

[LynzM]

46. Can I help?

:grr:

[KamaAina]

96. Hell no!

Nothing but a magnesium softball bat will do. :P

[FedUpWithIt All]

15. It makes me seethe but then i think about the animals we raise in captiviity for our own use.

We are nearly all to blame for the state we find our world, and it's beautiful creatures, in.

We seriously need to change.

[DeSwiss]

18. I hear ya. n/t

[dysfunctional press]

17. it will be a great day for this planet when the last human dies.

we suck.

[DeSwiss]

20. I'm at a loss to disagree with your point. You're right, when we do this: WE DEFINTELY SUCK n/t

[Flatulo]

22. You first.

[dysfunctional press]

23. i don't recall asking for volunteers.

someday, humans will be gone.
and for any species that still remain- it will be a blessing.

[flvegan]

24. You and I rarely agree.

This is one of those times.

[Flatulo]

68. Check out these guys...

http://www.vhemt.org/

[dysfunctional press]

100. more power to them.

i plan to take all the time i can get.

[stuntcat]

116. so do they

They don't want anyone to kill themselves, they just want humans to stop exponentially multiplying.
All of the members realize that won't happen, we're just glad we haven't given our children the next 80-90 nasty years.

Our species more than quadrupled in just a few decades. It's nuts to assume the planet will just lay back and let us keep expanding this way.

[stuntcat]

49. for real

the sooner that happens the better chance the rest of the animals have to recover. It won't happen though, our species will continue to wipe out healthy top predators. :puke:

[DrCory]

87. You could kill your family, friends, and then yourself...

gotta start somewhere, eh?

[stuntcat]

112. gosh such an original response..

never heard that one before, you proud ape :eyes:

Good job making me even more ashamed of my species.

[Flatulo]

71. It won't matter. Some other species will evolve the ability to manipulate

the environment in destructive ways.

Life on earth is a competition. Evolution kills off unsuccessful designs and promotes the most violent and aggressive. If we're on the list, so be it.

[dysfunctional press]

99. not in the ways humans have.

unless of course the oppossums and the raccoons enlarge their brain pans, and start to really get the hang of just what you can accomplish with an opposable thumb.

barring that, it will take millions upon millions of years for a new destroyer-species to evolve...

[Flatulo]

107. I was thinking more of primates.

"Get you hands off me, you damn dirty ape!"

[Fla_Democrat]

110. They can't make it across the highway.....

I really don't see them becoming the dominate species any time soon. :evilgrin:

[Sebastian Doyle]

19. What the fuck is "Tiger wine" anyway?

Never heard of it. Now Tiger Balm, on the other hand, is good stuff, but I don't think there are any actual dead kittehs in it. :evilfrown:

[DeSwiss]

21. According to the article.....

...(and I can understand anyone not wanting to read it further). It is a concoction made for male virility from the bones of these magnificent animals.

- And now I don't want to think about it anymore tonight. Shit.

[lonestarnot]

42. We have human winos in merika.

[DeSwiss]

51. We have a lot things in America.

But that's not the subject of this post.

- The subject is about Siberian Tigers waiting to die so that some prune of a man can use his bones in order to feel good about himself......

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Barack_America]

26. ChNN is actually trying to pass this off as virtuous.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/11/tiger.farms/?hpt=C1

Fucking disgusting.

[Lorien]

70. Horrible! Naturally CNN doesn't show anything like the photo in the OP

and "eco solution"???? :grr: :grr: :grr: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :grr: :grr: :grr:
how about educating these dumb greedy fucks and sending them a shitload of viagra instead?? We need to give CNN an education as well. Good God!

[Barack_America]

77. Mustn't upset the Chinese.

They know who their masters are.

And you are right, it's horrible.

[Lorien]

79. I think it's worth our time to post the Mail online article on the CNN page

many of the responders there seem to think that this kind of barbaric "tiger farming" is no different than serving venison at a restaurant.

[flvegan]

28. How you gonna kick it?

[tomp]

29. i'm opposed to cruelty to animals, but....

....could please cite your credentials/expertise regareding "...ignorant folkways and magical cures based upon ancient myths..."

[Maru Kitteh]

61. Some things are just painfully fucking obvious. No credentials required.

[trusty elf]

30. Absolutely sickening!

Have a look at this:

:grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke::grr::grr::nuke:

[proteus_lives]

31. Where are DU's China worshipers?

They usually rush to defend the Middle Kingdom.

Why not here????

[secondwind]

32. I saw a video of this made by investigative journalists several years ago. while

the journalist was talking with the "keeper", I could hear the tiger bellowing in pain and hunger, every minute or so..........

I can still hear that tiger to this day. The tiger was being killed for its fur, which has to be pristine, with no slashes or holes in it.

TOTALLY DISGUSTING.

[jberryhill]

33. He'll Whine Even More When Elin's Lawyers Are Done With Him

If he was trying to keep an agricultural property secret, that's not going to turn out well.

[Christa]

34. K & R

This broke my heart, DeSwiss :cry:

[harmonicon]

35. this is heartbreaking, but I don't see what it has to do with the Dali Lama

Americans are equally horrible - humanity is. Is this any better or worse than US corporations taking out secret life-insurance policies on its employees so that they're better dead than alive to the company? I don't think so. This story is not an indictment of the Chinese, but of all of us.

[QC]

36. there any endangered animal that is *not* a Chinese aphrodisiac? n/t

[Odin2005]

37. This is "Alternative Medicine", folks.

:puke:

[Tailormyst]

41. I'll stick with the type an can pick in the backyard

[BuddhaGirl]

74. this is a "broad brush", folks

:puke:

[Tailormyst]

39. I almost wish I had not seen that.

Odds are not even a glaring spotlight on the place and world outrage will cause the Chinese government to care about these majestic animals.

[Sentath]

45. Oh, there's no almost

:cry:

[a la izquierda]

44. Fucking horrifying

I wish I hadn't taken a peek, I've now thrown out half a bowl of oatmeal and my day is pretty well ruined.:mad:

[redqueen]

47. That is so, so sick and wrong...

:cry:

[OnyxCollie]

48. Horrible.

[earcandle]

50. Poor baby! Wish we could save you.

[vegleftie]

52. what to do: contribute to Animals Asia

The best thing you can do, besides writing letters to the
editor and politely expressing your horror to the Chinese
government, is to send any amount of money to Jill Robinson's
Animals Asia.  She's a heroic young woman who started this
small organization in 1998, which has already rescued hundreds
of "bile bears" in China by working with Chinese
officials to change laws and encouraging the use of herbal
instead of animal-based remedies in Chinese medicine.  

http://www.animalsasia.org

[cilla4progress]

54. Thank you.

I clicked on this last night and practically threw up and tore out my hair. One thing I can't abide is cruelty to animals, children, elderly - all the vulnerable ones. I fell asleep with visions of this sad, noble creature behind my eyes.

I only clicked again to see if I could learn of a way to help. Thank you so much for the link. Going there now. I implore everyone who reads this thread to do the same.

[Maru Kitteh]

57. Thank you so much for that and welcome to DU!

[redqueen]

59. Thank you. (nt)

[Altoid_Cyclist]

64. Thank you for the link. A worthwhile contribution is headed their way.

As my Dad (a Veternarian) used to say;
The more I learn about the human race, the more I love animals.

At times it seems as though we're racing to exterminate as many species as we can for some truly pathetic and sickening reasons.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

73. Thank you...

...and welcome to DU!

[mimitabby]

53. this is the saddest thing i have ever seen

1/2 of the population of tigers are wasting away in cages.

This world of ours will never be the same when the tiger spirits leave us for good.

[Leftist Agitator]

84. "This world of ours will never be the same when the tiger spirits leave us for good."

:rofl: :crazy: :rofl:

[montanto]

55. Disgusting.

I can't even look at that pic. I thought I was gonna lose my breakfast.

Anyone know of an organization that is dealing with Tigers specifically?

[Shell Beau]

58. I had no idea this is what I was clicking on. I was thinking this was

something about Tiger Woods.

It makes me sick. It makes me cry. How can someone look at that and be ok with it?

[swilton]

60. Key to this article

Is that this park exists within the gray area - outside of China's and international laws that protect the tigers....

This article is uniformed on a lot of levels - first of all the 'Siberian tigers' that the author refers to are actually referred to by zoologists as the Amur Tigers (Pantheris tigris altaica) - a subspecies of tiger that exists in Russia's Far East and small parts of China....The term 'Siberian' tiger is obsolete because there are no more tigers in Siberia.

The author also doesn't clarify where these tigers came from - i.e., rejects from the captive tiger populations existing in zoos, circuses illegallly but more than likely not harvested from the wild which was banned by international treaty since the signing of CITES (conference on international trade in endangered species, 1975) which bans trade in live animals as well as their parts..it is illegal. Many of those animals existing in zoo populations can not just be let loose in the wild.

Without trying to be an apologist for China - this park as it exists would be a violation of international law - any serious tiger poaching would not be on public display as is this particular park.

Both China and Russia are working hard to protect their tiger populations in the wild. Given that each female require 155 square mile range to raise cubs - habitat is critical...The 2010 Conference on protecting the tigers to be held in Vladivostok in September, 2010, Russia and China will reportedly discuss setting up a joint range.

The park that is the substance of this article may likely be a place where tigers go that are not technically wild or that can be released but are being held in captivity because they can't let them out to be subject to poaching, etc...

Sorry but I just don't buy the substance of the source article - as a researcher of conservation methods and policies in Russia, I don't find the article convincing on a lot of levels.

[varelse]

62. This is absolutely NOT acceptable

it's really inexcusable. I'm afraid to even read the replies on the thread, though. Good thing my lunch is over and I have to get back to work.

K&R

[AlbertCat]

63. All the while they aid and abet ignorant folkways and magical cures based upon ancient myths

Thank goodness Christians/Jews/Muslims don't do such foolish things!

[Leftist Agitator]

90. THANK YOU!!!!!

:hug:

[amborin]

65. K&R horrible! time to boycott commodities from China

[amborin]

108. same as here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=230706&mesg_id=230706

[beevul]

66. Disgusting and reprehensible.

What needs to be done is...I'm not going to say it.


Fucking disgusting and infuriating.

[BreweryYardRat]

67. Jesus CHRIST.

I feel ill after reading this.

[kenfrequed]

75. This is the free market at work

Honestly, capitalism rarely even considers anything other than using up a resource. No planning, no foresight, just cut it up, burn it down, and sell it off.

The answer in all circumstances is "well we expected the government to do something about this."

[Name removed]

76. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Barack_America]

78. Does a species deserve to be driven to extinction for men's erections?

Do the Chinese have the right to treat an endangered species like this for that purpose?

I don't care if there is evidence that Tiger Wine makes man "bigger and harder", it's not worth animals being treated this way.

[Leftist Agitator]

81. Is it OK for the OP to slander an entire culture's beliefs as "ignorant folkways"?

Watch how fast this gets deleted:

The Jewish tradition of circumcision is based on nothing more than ignorant folkways and magic based upon ancient myths.


Now, do you agree that that statement is deeply, deeply offensive?

[Lorien]

83. Science says: idiotic superstition

and don't even try the straw man route. The kind of barbarism allowed at tiger farms is inhumane in the extreme and only serves the greed of a few corrupt individuals.

[Leftist Agitator]

85. I'm not here to argue about the cruelty of this particular place.

That it is utterly cruel and reprehensible is beyond rational argument.

What I am here to decry is the OP callously slandering the cultural traditions of hundreds of millions simply because he or she doesn't share those beliefs.

Let's try this again:

"The Jewish tradition of circumcision is based on nothing more than ignorant folkways and magic based upon ancient myths."

Is it acceptable for someone to say this on DU? Is that statement not deeply offensive, irrespective of one's personal beliefs?

[AlbertCat]

98. "The Jewish tradition of circumcision is based on nothing more than ignorant folkways and magic base

"The Jewish tradition of circumcision is based on nothing more than ignorant folkways and magic based upon ancient myths."

How about:

"The Muslim tradition of female circumcision is based on nothing more than ignorant folkways and magic based upon ancient myths."?

And most traditions, Jewish or not are indeed "more than ignorant folkways and magic based upon ancient myths." Circumcision is only slightly less stupid than this.


And you are STILL comparing something humans do to each other, and the cruel exploitation of an animal with no choice.


There is no need to respect dumb traditions. Maybe the practitioners of such stupid stuff need to get a little miffed instead of just smiled at with respect.

[kurtzapril4]

101. No.

[anonymous171]

106. Yes. Especially if the practice is extremely destructive. nt

[Lorien]

82. There's no evidence that it makes anything "bigger and harder"

aside from some sick fuck's wallet. They want the effects of Viagra, then they should BUY Viagra. Idiotic superstitions need to be exposed for what they are ( the person you responded to is on my "ignore" list for excessively worthless comments).

[Name removed]

88. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RagAss]

92. The expansion of an ego is the only waste of flesh.

[Leftist Agitator]

97. How about wasting meat products?

Is that also not a waste of flesh?

Or your mother giving birth to you? Is that too not a colossal waste of flesh?

[RagAss]

115. Deleted

[elehhhhna]

94. jerk

[BrklynLiberal]

80. I have no adequate words to describe my revulsion for these barbaric acts, nor for the assholes who

I cannot say it any better..

I am crying and sick to my stomach...

[RagAss]

86. Half their ass is still in the fucking caves.

[Leftist Agitator]

89. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

:mad:

[RagAss]

91. Whoever tortures animals is barbaric !

[Leftist Agitator]

95. Whoever slanders an entire race of people is a bigot.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

What's next? Are you going to call all Muslims barbaric because some of them kill innocent people?

Please do, so you get the banhammer, you piece of shit.

[kurtzapril4]

103. re: Whoever slanders an entire race of people is a bigot.

I slander whoever does these things, and believes in this BS for whatever reason. There is NO excuse for this, ever ever ever. If that makes me a bigot...fine. I'm a bigot, then. There isn't ANY excuse for being this ignorant.

I guess it's okay with you that the slaughter of albino people in Tanzania goes on? There's a healthy trade in the body parts of albino children...so much so that the ones who survive have to be guarded 24-7. After all...albinos and tigers have magical body parts that cure limp dick, right? And curing limp dick is of the utmost importance! Give me a fucking break.

[Withywindle]

111. since when is "people who torture animals to death" a race?

Unfortunately, you get these wastes of skin in every ethnicity and every society.

Barbarism is as barbarism does.

You're deliberately misinterpreting that person's post.

[RagAss]

114. Took the words right out of my mouth.

[mitchum]

102. Sick fucks

[knitter4democracy]

105. Oh my God. To see such a noble, gorgeous creature so sick and dying makes me ill.

I'll never forget going to the Moscow Circus in college and seeing the last act, which was a tiger act. The guy beat the crap out of the thin, sick tigers, and I felt like throwing up in my seat. I finally slid down and covered my eyes, unable to watch anymore, and I found out afterward that most of the rest of the group did the same thing. To watch him beat them until they submitted and followed his stupid orders made me sick to my stomach for hours and days afterward. I had nightmares--and these are worse off.

Sick. Perverted and sick.

[Withywindle]

109. I hear the ground-up bones and dried-up dicks of animal torturers give the BEST, BIGGEST boners.

Spread the word.

[Barack_America]

113. .

:kick: