Food blogger fined P1 million for cooking and eating great white shark
A food blogger in China was slapped with a 125,000 yuan (P1 million) fine after posting a video showing her buying, preparing, and eating a great white shark.
Bloomberg reported that the blogger, a woman known as Jin and goes by Tizi in the video posted in July 2022, broke China’s wildlife protection laws according to officials in Nanchong in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
"Don't be fooled by its scary appearance, its meat is very tender," Tizi says in the video, which has since caused outrage among Chinese viewers.
Authorities launched an investigation in August, and found in DNA tests from the tissue remnants that it was indeed the great white shark. They also arrested two others for catching and selling the animal, Bloomberg reported.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the great white shark as a vulnerable species, with its population already declining.
China has banned shark fin soup about a decade ago, though consumption of certain exotic wild animals remains prevalent due to supposed health benefits, Bloomberg reported.
The nation also imposed a total ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals in February 2020 amid the coronavirus scare.