Guest guest Posted November 28, 2001 Report Share Posted November 28, 2001 For private record only - not for publication. Journey in Southern Sichuan November 9th to 13th 2001 Friday 9th November 2001 We arrived at 6.0am in Yibin on the overnight train from Chengdu (Yibin is 370 Km south-east of Chengdu). We just failed to get a photo of an old man getting off the train carrying on a bamboo stick over his shoulders two chicken-wire square boxes each containing nearly 50 four week old kittens. Yibin lies at the confluence of the Min and Jinsha rivers and is the highest port on the Yangtze. It has a population of one million in the city proper and six million in its surrounding jurisdiction. We made a walk through the central district markets and parks and visited the Yibin municipal zoo - Cui Ping Park Zoo. This is typical of the horrid little zoos that can be found in the smaller Chinese cities. Barren and featureless rusting menagerie cages - about 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5m. The animals were generally in poor thin condition but had water (dirty looking) and food. 1 male lion, 1 male tiger - trying to pace on a slippery floor. 1 deer. 1 ostrich in bad condition with feather loss and lesions on neck and back. 2 camels with hair loss. 2 goats. 2 ponies. Many different kinds of birds including parrots, pheasants, peacocks, hens, an owl, a vulture with no tail feathers and a lesion on his neck. 4 rabbits. There was a collection of macaques. One had a split lip and a mashed finger and big wounds on body and head. A young macaque was on a chain inside the cage. In the cage there was dirty water, compressed biscuits and many plastic bags. No enrichment. On the way back from the zoo we came across a small exhibit house which contained: 1 monitor lizard. 1 crocodile. 1 python. 2 monkeys on short fixed chains on a pedestal. 1 pheasant. 1 chameleon. 5 dead snakes. lots of asbestos sheeting. Photos of the market and of Cui Ping Park at: http://www.aapn.org/yibinphot.html After lunch we visited a dog meat restaurant which had 2 dogs in a cage waiting to be killed and eaten. In another cage were three puppies. The restaurant owner informed us that there are 5 dog meat restaurants in Yibin supplied by two farms about 20Km outside Yibin. We asked to visit these but were repeatedly told that the roads were too dangerous. He said they used about 20 - 30 dogs each month. We were told that dog eating is not popular in this area amongst the older generation - dogs were traditionally kept as guards and pets but not food. However the younger generation is coming under the influence of other provinces - Guangdong, Hubei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin) - and dog eating is now considered to be fashionable as a special occasion feast. It seems that dog eating becomes less popular as you move North in this region. Xichang to the South of Yibin has a much more flourishing dog meat industry. Dog meat is very expensive compared with pork which is as cheap as ordinary vegetables. For Photos of Yibin Market, see: http://www.aapn.org/zigongmarketphot.html We then visited a pig slaughterhouse. There are 3 pig slaughterhouses in Yibin - two government run and one private. This was the private one and the smallest of the three. It processes five to six hundred pigs each night starting at midnight. Hoses are used to propel the pigs from the holding pens down a slope to the killing room. They used to stun the pigs but stopped because the customers complained that the colour of the meat was affected. The pigs are killed by a knife into the heart and then bled upside down. As it was daytime, we did not witness the process. Saturday 10th November 2001 We took a taxi 105Km north to Zigong (Salt Mine City). We visited one of only two restaurants that sell dog meat in Zigong. They buy a dog from the market about once a week, kill it themselves and put it in their freezer. About 10 dogs a week are eaten in Zigong. We visited the private Zigong People's Park Zoo. Another nasty little zoo. Dirty, miserable cages with animals in bad condition. 1 camel. 4 deer (in pairs in separate concrete and iron cages). 1 tiger + 1 dog (apparently friends since young - the story was that the dog was put in as food but the tiger never ate him). 2 cranes. 1 Chinese alligator in a tiny puddle. A variety of parrots, peacocks, peasants and chickens in poor conditions. 4 macaques, one near death, 1 with a growth on his neck. Another 3 macaques - interestingly, in an old bile bear cage. 1 vulture. 1 moon bear - presumably ex-bear bile farm. We were told the following: a.. that bear farming was originally undertaken in Dujiangyan City but because Westerners visiting the ancient irrigation works there complained about the cruelty, the bears were moved as a first measure to the Zhiyang district. b.. It was then decided to phase out the bear farming altogether and a foundation was formed by the State Forestry Administration and local businessmen, bear farmers and other benefactors so that retired bears could live out their lives in peace. c.. Some of the bears are now looked after by the foundation whilst others have gone to zoos. d.. We also saw empty bile bear cages at the new zoo in Jintang - see later (Tuesday). For more on this subject, see: http://www.animalsasia.org/ Outside the gates of the Zigong Zoo was one of the common freak type shows with several dead turtles and snakes and some live ones and a frantic, desperate " Sea Fox " (Civet) which was kept hungry so that visitors could feed him with live eels from a ladle. For Photos of Zigong Zoo, see: http://www.aapn.org/zigongphot.html We visited the Market in central Zigong. We witnessed ducks, geese, chickens and rabbits being slaughtered. About 100 rabbits are killed each day at this location alone. They wait in exposed baskets until chosen by a customer. The chosen one is then strung up by a leg, stabbed in the neck and skinned. For Photos of Zigong Market, see: http://www.aapn.org/zigongmarketphot.html Sunday 11th November 2001 This is the traditional day for dog trading in Zigong. We visited 3 areas of activity - 2 on hills in parks (the main one is Fu Dai Mountain) and 1 in a traditional market (Ding Gan Ba Street). Dogs were being bought and sold for pets, for guards and for food. There were demonstrations of dog training - attacks on each other and padded people. We also witnessed the servicing (rape) of a mixed breed bitch by a champion german shepherd dog. The meat of watch dogs is not considered good to eat. Meat dogs sell for Y100 to 250. (US$1 is approximately Y8). (In New York they sell for US$450 according to a WB11 investigation!) Guard dogs for much more. There was one dog there that had been purchased from Germany for Y600,000 and had won many watch dog competitions. Importation from Hong Kong is more usual. The dogs are imported pretrained for guard and police duties and detecting smuggling. " Unfortunately the dogs forget their training after one or two years " . There are guard dog training centres in Chengdu, Nanning, Xian, Beijing and Shenyang. And a Tibetan Mastiff centre in Nanchang. Breeding of guard dogs is officially encouraged. Servicing fees varied from Y800 to Y5000. A pure bred puppy will sell for more than Y10,000; mixed for 700 - 4,000. Cats were being sold for Y2 - 5. One old man was selling his dog for Y8 because he couldn't afford to feed either the dog or himself. There are estimated to be 150 million dogs in China. For Photos of Pet Trading, see: http://www.aapn.org/ZigongMarketphot.html We then took a taxi 47Km north-east to Neijiang and visited the Neijiang People's Park Zoo. Yet another horrid little zoo which should not be allowed to exist. Tiny, dirty, featureless cages with no attempts at enrichment, many cages without water; bars and fences rusted and dangerous;, gates left open; visitors not supervised, etc, etc. 2 porcupines. 1 out-of-his-mind brown bear. 1 moon bear (?ex bile bear). 1 ostrich. 2 dogs. several peacocks. 4 deer on concrete. 2 deer on concrete. 7 macaques. 1 female tiger. 1 female lion. 2 vultures. 1 owl. In the Park were areas where mature trees had been felled to make way for grass and palm trees - we were told that this was to make the park look more " western " . In the streets were " Tibetan " traders selling medicines and endangered animal parts (?fake). Photos of the traders at: http://www.aapn.org/chengduphot.html For Photos of Neijiang Zoo, see: http://www.aapn.org/neijiangphot.html After this we went by bus to Ya'an (150Km south-west of Chengdu). Monday 12th November 2001 Bi Fung Xia Wild Animal Park. This is a newly set up park beautifully situated in the foothills above Ya'an. Entry was Y100 each. The drive up to it was impressive with some exotic animals on view in paddocks beside the road (lions, tigers, ostriches, camels, gnus, etc). Also quite impressive was the trip through the main paddocks on the zoo bus. After that, horrors began to unfold. The first paddock the bus went through was a concrete expanse with 3 wolves and 3 saplings on it. The next were a good paddock for 10 lions and another for 4 tigers with watering holes, platforms, hills and trees. One paddock had a brown bear and 4 moon bears - one, defanged and declawed, put his head and a paw into the driver's window and was fed with apple slices. There were also 3 civets. Then off the bus and a long circuitous walk round the zoo section. First, a miserable pair of cages with 2 vultures and 3 eagles - hardly room to move, let alone fly. 11 deer on a brick square. 10 free ranging macaques but 1 baby on a chain. 8 macaques in a concrete cage. 10 macaques in a concrete cage. 7 crocodiles outside the crocodile performance stadium (no performance immediately scheduled). Large bird park - 2 tethered peacocks. Many water birds - seagulls, etc - cranes, magpies, quails, etc. Wild Animal Performance: assorted parrots, cockatoos and macaws doing various tricks. 4 young lions and 1 tiger doing rolling and balancing tricks) declawed and defanged). 1 lion rode on a horse's back. macaques doing somersaults, balancing, bicycling, etc. goat with a monkey on her back doing tight rope walking. lion jumping through 2 fiery hoops moonbear on stilts carrying a basket; baby moonbear on roller skates looking terrified. lion walking over two women. pigs and puppies seen in cages behind the performance area. Camel rides. Horse rides. Elephant show (no performance immediately scheduled). 1 large and 1 medium female Asian elephant each in a small horribly confining cage made of bars, chicken wire and perspex. Bull hooks standing ready. Ears torn. Sores on legs and feet. Then an area with lots of small featureless cages containing: badgers monkeys white foxes red foxes porcupines mad, terrified wolves boar rabbit sheep macaques ducks donkey slipping on wet bricks 5 slow loris 7 shitzu dogs 1 sharpei and 2 spaniel puppies Photography area: blind moon bear on pedestal dressed up macaque sitting between 2 tethered peacocks Then a wooded area with: 8 deer on brick square. 4 bovines on brick square. white tailed deer, brown deer and sambar on bricks. 3 sheep. guinea fowl with donkeys and sheep. large sow with child. a variety of deer, elk and goats -some with foot troubles. 2 kangaroos in central heating. 3 white tigers and 2 white lions in relatively large enclosures. numerous stalls selling snake oil, tiger urine, dog penis, elixir of youth, etc. Thinking Room - extraordinary display of macabre pictures and models. Sealion performance area (no performance immediately scheduled). For Photos of Bi Fung Xia, see: http://www.aapn.org/bifungxia.html Tuesday 13th November 2001 In the morning we visited the Chengdu Wild World at Jintang. http://www.cdwlw.com/ 60km north-west of Chengdu. This will not be open until December 2001 but we were kindly allowed to drive through the safari park section. The animals were already in their night quarters but had not yet been released in the paddocks. There were separate paddocks for Tigers, Bears, Lions and Wolves. Inside the Bear paddock were 3 empty bile bear farming cages and 2 empty bile bear transport cages. There will also be exhibits of Deer, Elephants, Zebras, Monkeys, Dogs, Foxes and there will be 4 Giant Pandas. 3000 animals, 300 species. Area 1 x 5 sq Km. There was a large stadium structure - we could not ascertain its function. In the afternoon we visited the Giant Panda Research Station - the sun was shining and the Pandas were gambolling in the trees and grass - thus we absorbed a generally more upbeat feeling about the place than on our last visit. Then a short cyclo ride to visit the Chengdu Zoo. This was our 3rd visit to this large but sorry municipal zoo. Accounts of previous visits can be seen at: http://www.aapn.org/zoopage.html - scroll down to Chengdu. The rhino house now has a resident white rhino and 5 zebras. The dog section has fortunately disappeared - in its place is a small petting zoo (a calf, some goats, ducks and rabbits). Other animals include the following: 2 hippos. 2 mongolian wild asses. 2 thin male lions; 1 female lion - all the cats having shockingly bad cages. 3 siberian tigers (one with calluses worn on cheeks from bar rubbing). 3 jaguars, 2 melanotic. 2 adult leopards; 2 x 18 month olds; 5 x 6 month olds in 3 separate cages; 1 kept solitary - looked unwell. 1 large chimp; 1 small chimp - shockingly inadequate cages for all the great apes. 2 orangutans housed separately, desperately trying to get back into sleeping quarters. 2 gnus plus child. 2 pandas; 2 lesser pandas. 2 elephants - adult female stereotypically bobbing and swaying. 1 mad boar pacing frantically in new glass fronted small cage. lynx and others in the new pathetic cages. capuchins, gibbons, golden monkeys. lamas, deer, goral, ostriches, addax, goats, horses, camels, takins, yak. 5 blue sheep. polar bear, sun bear, moon bear (already in sleeping quarters so not seen). rabbits, ducks. variety of monkeys. For Photos of Chengdu, see: http://www.aapn.org/chengduphot.html Signed: Sheila McClelland John Wedderburn 27th November 2001. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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