Chinese Poaching Cartels working with Zim Villagers
Reports around the Hwange area suggest that local villagers in Zimbabwer are working closely with Chinese poaching cartels to exume the bodies of lions for possession of lion bones. As you may already be aware, the lion-bone trade has been quickly replacing that of the tiger-bone trade on the Asian market, as many Asian countries have all but wiped out tiger populations on the continent due to poaching for tiger bones used in wines, medicines, etc. All of which, by the way, have no medicinal value or benefits. Yeah, we thought it all sounded pretty stupid, too.
But there's vast incentice for locals and Chinese poachers to get their paws on these lion bones. One lion skeleton can fetch over $2,000 and the bones are used to produce top-quality wine in Asia that can sell for well over $20,000 per bottle. PER BOTTLE! Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, confirmed the development. His confirmation is backed by reports from the WWF and the IUCN.
Of course, things are only going to get worse for lions in the near future if nothing is done to stop the illegal activities in Africa. One thing is for sure: Africa is bleeding their wildlife dry for every penny.
Read the full story here: Chinese Illegally take Zim Lion Bones for Wine