Guangxi investigates alleged pangolin banquet
Take me away, mom Animals on the Road	“Water Margin” on eggs Cat the occupier Adorable animals pose like stars Cuddle up together, battling against blizzard Sunshine in the life

 

The Chinese pangolin is said to be extinct in the wild. [Photo: China Daily]

An investigation into allegations that an official banquet served pangolin meat is underway in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the local discipline inspection commission.

It comes after a Sina Weibo post with pictures of a pangolin meat banquet went viral on Monday. The images were posted on July 15, 2015 by a Weibo user named "Ah_cal" who alleged that two senior government officials of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region surnamed Li and Huang held the banquet for himself, and for a Hong Kong business delegation.

Some netizens later said that one of the alleged officials in the picture is Huang Wenbiao, the Party secretary from Guangxi Investment Promotion Agency.

However, the agency says that although they did organize a business survey for a Hong Kong delegation in July 2015, none of the people in the pictures posted online were from the agency, China News Services reported.

The agency also made it clear that, from the time it was set up in 2004 to July 15, 2015 when the pictures were posted, there were no senior officials in the agency surnamed Li or Huang. The current Party secretary Huang Wenbiao was undergoing training in Singapore during the Hong Kong delegation's visit, and was nominated and started working at the agency after that time.

The incident also triggered public concern over Chinese pangolins, one of the eight species of pangolins which are critically endangered.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna said in 2003 the population of Chinese pangolins was estimated at 50,000 to 100,000, having declined by up to 94 percent since the 1960s, reported China Daily.

Also called scaly anteaters, pangolins are increasingly victims of illegal wildlife crime - mainly in Asia and in growing amounts in Africa - and are hunted for their scales and meat.

Pangolins were awarded the highest level of protection under the Convention in October 2016 in a major international conference in Johannesburg.

In China, those who catch, kill, buy or sell pangolins could face a jail term of more than 10 years plus fines.Conservation groups have suggested that the government upgrade pangolins from a second-class to a first-class national protected species.

Author： 　　　Source：xinhua　　　 Editor：Yang Fan