08 June,2017 06:00 AM IST | China | mid-day online correspondent
In a disturbing video that has emerged online, a group of men threw a live donkey into the tiger enclosure leaving visitors at a China zoo shell-shocked. The video has gone viral ever since
In a disturbing video that has emerged online, a group of men threw a live donkey into the tiger enclosure leaving visitors at a China zoo shell-shocked. The video has gone viral ever since.
It so happened that a group of men in raincoats pushed a donkey down a wooden ramp into a moat where two tigers pounced on it. The poor donkey died after about half an hour of being mauled by the tigers at the zoo near Shanghai.
The act has drawn immense criticisms around the globe.
Watch video here
Warning: The content in the below video is disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised
China is said to be one of the worlds biggest consumers of donkeys. However donkeys have a sad life in the country.
China needs donkeys for preparing a traditional and very popular remedy called Ejiao, believed to improve blood circulation, and cure conditions such as insomnia, dizziness, irregular menstruation etc.
Due to the preference for Ejiao, China's donkey population, over the past two decades, has decreased from 11 million to 6 million. According to government data, China's donkey population currently decreases at the rate of 300,000 a year.
In Burkina Faso, China's donkey skin imports led to a growth of slaughterhouses. Donkey skin exports rose from 1,000 in the first quarter of 2015 to over 18,000 in the last quarter. They are highly sought after as donkey meat is also believed to be more nutritious than other meats
Some 45,000 of Burkina Faso's 1.4 million donkeys were slaughtered in the period from March-August 2016.
- statistics from agencies
