According to government officials on a 2019 Seal Conservation Union Conference held on April 11th, the head of an aquarium has surrendered himself to the public security bureau. It turned out that four of their six Spotted Seals' pups were from illegal sources.

The story dated back to February 15th, when China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) volunteers found that there were spotted seals priced 100,000 RMB each for sale. It's a protected species according to Chinese law, so obviously, this is illegal. Then we started to investigate. Later, it was found that the site of the accident was in Seal Park in Hebei Province. The Pigeon Nest Park is located in the northeast corner of Beidaihe seashore, adjacent to the coastal avenue, is one of the four scenic spots of Beidaihe scenic spot in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province.

CBCGDF and its volunteers follow up on this shortly. But we were told by Hebei Fisheries Authority that it was just a joke, and the videos were taken by an irresponsible tourist just for fun.

In March, we sent an official letter to the fishery administration department of Hebei Province requesting verification and information disclosure. But we were being told that it belongs to the company's business secrets and denied any information disclosure. The story caused widespread media coverage, and then the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs began to investigate, and finally found out that those spotted seals were illegal sources.

We are still confused. Why did the authorities approve them in the first place? Aquariums are wildly known as evil pushers to promote spotted seals poaching.  A well-known example is that a Feb 11st 2019, it's reported that 100 such seal pups were stolen from their mothers by poachers to meet demands from aquariums for the animal exhibition.

CBCGDF believes the above story is not an isolated case. The relevant departments should strengthen the detailed tracking and in-depth investigation of aquariums and oceanic parks throughout the country.

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

Original Chinese article:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rKAIjSGTyTfK8lvCl7kdeg

By / Ellean