CHINESE FOOD BLOGGER JAILED FOR EATING GREAT WHITE SHARK

A food blogger in China has been fined R320,000 for illegally buying and eating a great white shark.

The woman, who posts under the name Tizi in her videos, posted a video showing her illegally buying the meat and then cooking it.

Officials in Nanchong, in the country’s southwestern province of Sichuan, said the woman’s actions go against China’s wildlife protection laws.

Tizi posted videos of herself as she collected the almost 2-meter-long shark from a shop after she bought it on Alibaba’s Taobao shopping site.

After the food blogger was arrested, two other people involved in catching and selling the animal to her were also arrested.

Up until 10 years ago you could still order shark fin soup in restaurants in China but the government has officially banned it since.

In China, it’s widely believed that eating wildlife has severe health benefits for those consuming it. That’s the reason why the government has revised its wildlife protection laws recently. News laws that were imposed in May 2022 mean heavy penalties are imposed if a person is caught poaching, hunting or consuming most wildlife.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the great white shark as a vulnerable species with a population that’s declined sharply over recent years.

Image credit: The Mirror