A Sina Weibo message featuring details of an apparent “pangolin feast” has drawn wide public condemnation.
User @Ah_cal, a member of an inspection delegation from Hong Kong, expressed thanks to two local officials in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for “cooking pangolins." He claimed that he had “fallen in love with the flavor.”
A combination of poaching and habitat loss has made pangolins one of the most endangered groups of mammals in the world.
The post was put on Weibo on July 15, 2015, but has prompted wide discussion and criticism on Chinese social media only recently. Pangolins are under the country’s second-class protection.
Screenshot of the controversial Weibo post.
The State Forestry Administration responded through its official Weibo account on Monday, saying that illegal trafficking, selling or consuming of wild animals on the national list of protection are criminal offences.
The discipline inspection department of Guangxi has also launched an investigation into the incident, as is reported by Xinhua News Agency, and will make public the results when the probe is completed.
Screenshot of the State Forestry Administration's response.
The Hong Kong inspection delegation involved in the incident also made a statement on Wednesday. It confirmed that @Ah_cal, who is identified as a man surnamed Li, is a member of the delegation, but added that eating pangolins was a personal choice unconnected with the delegation.
According to the statement, the delegation went to Guangxi for an inspection from July 8 to 10 in 2015, and Mr. Li and his friend ate the pangolins on July 11.
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