Friday, January 07, 2011
A tour bus driver was mauled to death by a tiger at a breeding center in northeast China after he got out of his vehicle to check on a mechanical problem.
Jin Shijun was attacked by a Siberian tiger and dragged off to a wooded area, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Jin was dead by the time other people were able to frighten off the animal at the Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center in Hailin city in Heilongjiang.
China has nearly 6,000 endangered tigers in captivity, but just 50 to 60 live in the wild in the northeast, including about 20 Siberian tigers.
In the 1980s, China set up farms to preserve tigers, intending to release some into the wild. But conservation groups think the cats are used for their body parts, while reports have exposed poor conditions at the parks.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=3&art_id=106796&sid=30829816&con_type=1&d_str=20110107&fc=7
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