These are the shocking images of deep-frozen Siberian tigers pulled out of the freezer at a Chinese zoo that had apparently allowed unlicensed breeding of the animals.
In some cases, the zoo even had lion and tiger crossbred animals although these were apparently moved out shortly before the zoo was raided.
Government officials have confirmed that a team is currently examining the carcasses of the big cats found in the freezer at the Fuyang Wildlife Park located in a remote suburb of Yingdong District, in Fuyang City in Anhui Province.
The tigers were apparently rented for display by the private zoo from another company paying an annual rental fee of CNY 3 million (GBP 328,000).
The reason for the unauthorised breeding has not yet been confirmed, although speculation has been that carcasses were to be sold off for Chinese medicine.
What is known is that tigers were regularly dying each year but the remaining tigers were also breeding, something which normally needs a licence to ensure the best genetic matches and the continuance of the breed when the cubs are raised in an appropriate environment.
The fact that only one of the 11 tiger cubs born in the private zoo survived indicates that the decision to ban them from breeding tigers was the correct one.
By the time investigators arrived, 20 tigers had died but there were still 16 live tigers in the wildlife park. Also under investigation is the condition under which two African lions and three giraffes are being kept.
The raid comes just as the park announced ambitious expansion plans to create a larger area for giraffes, and with the addition of elephant rides, a sea life centre and other more conventional animals including rabbits and horses that allowed it to lay claim to being the largest wildlife park in the area.
Local media hinted at the fact that the decision to fast-track the building work and bring the animals in before they were ready might have been the reason for the deaths of some of the tigers and other animals including one giraffe.
Others speculated that the tigers were being bred and stored when they died so that their body parts could be sold for use in Chinese medicine, although government officials refused to comment on this.
However, leaked documents show that a licence to breed tigers was never given and the zoo went ahead and paired the tigers anyway.
Investigators are trying to find out how the zoo got away with breeding the tigers without anybody noticing for so long.
The zoo also appears to have financial difficulties, with some of the animals like the bears kept in tiny cages where they were not even able to stand up properly, and could barely turn around.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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