Police in China have arrested ten people for allegedly killing a giant panda and trading her parts as meat.
China Central Television said police in the Yunnan province had recovered an adult female panda skin, 9.75kg of panda meat, two leg bones, two pieces of skull and a gall bladder from suspected poachers and sellers.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hunting pandas can lead to a minimum ten-year prison sentence in China. If the circumstances are deemed to be "grave", convicts can even face life imprisonment or execution.
In the late 1980s, more than 200 people were arrested and nearly 150 pelts were recovered after China launched a crackdown on panda poachers. At least nine people were sentenced to life in prison and 33 people received terms of ten years or more. One man was reportedly caught trying to sell the fur of a baby panda.
Although poaching is not common today, the animal's rarity means its parts can fetch high prices on the black market.
The giant panda remains one of the most endangered species in the world. According to a 2014 census from WWF, there were just 1,864 alive in the wild and all of these were in China.
"Hunting remains an ever-present threat," says WWF. "Poaching the animals for their fur has declined due to strict laws and greater public awareness of the panda's protected status. But hunters seeking other animals in panda habitats continue to kill pandas accidentally."
The most dangerous threat facing giant pandas is habitat destruction.
-
Questions abound over the FAA’s management of BoeingTalking Points Some have called the agency’s actions underwhelming
-
Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film FestivalFeature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
