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A public undertaking such as a zoo should never set the pursuit of profit as its top priority. The miserable fate of the tigers and other animals in Shenyang Wildlife Zoo was inevitable from the beginning when making money was the sole purpose of its restructuring from a State-owned zoo into a private one a decade ago.
The death of 11 tigers in three months was the culmination of the crisis, which would have taken place sooner or later. Preliminary investigation reveals dirty deals behind the restructuring 11 years ago: The corrupt mayor Mu Suixin (who died in 2002) received bribes to support the taking over of the zoo by a private entrepreneur.
Income from the zoo was eventually diverted by the entrepreneur to repay his debts. As a result, there hasn’t been enough money to keep the wild animals in good health and even pay the zoo’s workers.
The investigation has also revealed that the bones of the dead tigers have been used to make tiger-bone liquor as gifts for officials and entertain those who performed inspection work. This is also a serious violation of the rule that dead tigers can never be used to make medicine or liquor.
The inappropriate takeover by the private entrepreneur is the root cause of the mismanagement and lack of supervision. The entrepreneur has never showed any concern for the management of the zoo, as the investigation showed. The takeover itself was not through public bidding but through the abuse of power by local government officials.
Now further investigation is needed to find out how much money the entrepreneur has diverted from the zoo. He should also be legally held accountable for the death of the animals there. The local government should be immediately investigated for its lack of supervision.
A thorough investigation that will be able to find out all the loopholes or illegal dealings in this case will not just facilitate its settlement, but also portend a good prospect for this zoo.
