China officials dine on endangered salamander: reports

Yahoo – AFP, 27 Jan 2015

File photo of a Chinese giant salamander in a glass tank during the China International

Conservation festival in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan province, in 2005 (AFP Photo)

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese officials feasted on a critically endangered giant salamander and turned violent when journalists photographed the luxury banquet, according to media reports Tuesday on the event which appeared to flout Beijing's austerity campaign.

The 28 diners included senior police officials from the southern city of Shenzhen, the Global Times said.

"In my territory, it is my treat," it quoted a man in the room as saying.

The giant salamander is believed by some Chinese to have anti-ageing properties, but there is no orthodox evidence to back the claim.

A waitress serves shark fin's soup at a 

restaurant in Guangzhou, southern China's 

Guangdong province, on August 10, 2014

(AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

The species is classed as "critically endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, which says the population has "declined catastrophically over the last 30 years".

"Commercial over-exploitation for human consumption is the main threat to this species," the IUCN said.

The Global Times cited the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily, which said its journalists were beaten up when their identities were discovered by the diners.

One was kicked and slapped, another had his mobile phone forcibly taken, while the photographer was choked, beaten up and had his camera smashed, the reports said.

A total of 14 police have been suspended and an investigation launched into the incident, added the Global Times.

One of the Shenzhen diners provided the salamander and said it had been captive-bred, according to the report.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a much-publicised austerity drive for the ruling classes, including a campaign for simple meals with the catchphrase “four dishes and one soup”.

The ruling Communist Party also says it is cracking down on the consumption of endangered species, including shark's fin.

China's legislature last April approved a law including prison sentences for people caught eating rare wild animals.

The Chinese government considers 420 wild animal species as rare or endangered, state media previously said.

A chef prepares shark fins for cooking, Aug. 6. (File photo/CNS)

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SeaWorld park to redesign controversial whale tank

BBC News, 16 August 2014

The new tanks will be twice the size as the current ones, which
animal rights groups say are too small

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• Five killer whales 'sue' SeaWorld
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US marine theme park SeaWorld has announced it is to build a bigger tank for its killer whales, amid criticism of its treatment of the animals.

But the Florida company said that the plans were not in response to last year's documentary film "Blackfish".

The film suggested that captivity and SeaWorld's treatment provoked violent behaviour in the killer whales.

The high profile death of a trainer in front of a live audience in 2010 sparked worldwide outrage.

SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchinson said in a statement on Friday that the new tank, to be completed by 2018, would "transform how visitors experience killer whales".

The 2013 film 'Blackfish' argued that whales in captivity become
traumatised and turn violent

"Our guests will be able to walk alongside the whales as if they were at the shore, watch them interact at the depths found in the ocean, or a bird's eye view from above."

The new tank will be almost twice the size of its current orca tank, with 10 million gallons of water and a new depth of 50 feet (15m), and will include larger viewing points for visitors.

But Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) criticised the plans, calling them a "desperate move".

"A bigger prison is still a prison," it said in a statement.

The animal rights group warned that nothing but moving the orcas to seaside sanctuaries to feel and experience the ocean again and hear their families would "save the company", which has seen its profits slump in the past year since it went public.

Dawn Brancheau was killed by the whale 'Tilikum', whilst performing
in a show at SeaWorld in 2010

Peta filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld in 2012 and named five killer whales as plaintiffs, arguing that they deserved the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, who had more than 16 years of experience in killer whale shows was killed whilst performing with "Tilikum".

She died from drowning and traumatic injuries after the whale bit and dragged her underwater in front of an audience.

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Orcas put on show as ferry transports tribal artifacts to Bainbridge Island

Killer whales have been thrilling whale watchers this week in Puget Sound. But

they were especially exciting Tuesday when nearly three dozen orcas surrounded

 the ferry from Seattle as it approached the terminal on Bainbridge Island. NOAA

Fisheries Service photo by Candice Emmons

Chinese submarines are the targets of US 'aquatic PRISM:' Xinhua

Want ChinaTimes, Staff Reporter 2013-07-07

The USNS Impeccable. (Photo Courtesy of USN)

Edward Snowden and the private information of citizens across the world might not be the only thing the United States is monitoring behind the scenes. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reports that PLA submarines are being closely watched by China's cross-Pacific neighbor.

By providing sensitive information regarding the PRISM surveillance program to Western media, Edward Snowden has damaged the reputation of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. Not only does PRISM snatch information from the communications of US citizens, but it trespasses on the rights of internet users around the world, if such a right can be claimed.

US intelligence networks are, obviously or not, widespread and not restricted to the public sector. According to Xinhua, every movement of China's submarine fleet — and for that matter, the fleets of submarines around the world's oceans — are monitored by the US, through the deployment five ocean surveillance ships, including USNS Impeccable. All five vessels had been expelled by Chinese maritime surveillance vessels from the territorial waters of China.

A huge surveillance network has been established by the US Navy beneath the waters of East China Sea, South China Sea and the Yellow Sea, reported Xinhua. With any luck, there will be an aquatic version of Edward Snowden to bare the spotlight on this instrusive US monitoring program.

SeaWorld fined $75,000 after death of animal trainer

CNN, August 23rd, 2010

SeaWorld has been fined $75,000 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three safety violations, including one classified as willful, after the death of one of its animal trainers in February.

The agency's investigation "revealed that SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando," said an OSHA statement Monday. "Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees."

There was no immediate response from SeaWorld to the announcement.

– From CNN's Dugald McConnell

Former SeaWorld safety chief Linda Simons claims she was fired for talking
too much to federal investigators following the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau (r.)
 (Connell/AP)

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