Tigers Slaughtered in China as Status Symbol and Entertainment for Wealthy Class

At least 10 tigers were slaughtered for the entertainment of wealthy individuals in Leizhou city in China's southern Guangdong province, according to media reports.

Word of the senseless tiger slaughter, which has been taking place for a number of years, was first reported by China's Nanfang Daily newspaper, according to the AFP, which detailed an incident two years ago where a tiger, kept in an iron cage, was gagged with an electrified rod and shocked in the mouth until it passed out.

Media reports indicate that a group of local officials and wealthy individuals were implicated in the episodes of tiger abuse, which were reportedly done as "eye-openers" as a means of showing off social stature.

"It is an open secret in Leizhou that when people in political or business circles gather together, they sometimes hire someone to slaughter a tiger - simply as a form of entertainment and to show off their wealth," China Daily reported Wednesday. Leizhou is a subdivision of the larger city Zhanjiang

One man, whom China Daily identified as a local government official named Chen, said he regretted not being able to attend a tiger slaughter he was once invited to.

Fifteen individuals were arrested in connection with the illegal tiger slaughters, according to the Global Times of China.

A 61-year-old butcher who reportedly slaughtered 10 tigers died after jumping off a building in an attempt to escape arrest, the Global Times reported, citing Nanfang Daily.

It is likely that the butchered tigers were raised in captivity for the purpose of using their body parts for traditional Chinese medicine. Media reports said the tigers were likely sedated and transported alive to Guangdong to be slaughtered. It is illegal in China to raise a tiger in captivity without a permit, and the use or trade of tiger products has been banned since 1993, the Global Times reported.

"Tigers are subjected to slaughter as long as Chinese have faith in the medical value of tiger products, such as their bones or male genitalia, which are actually very controversial in terms of their efficacy," Xie Yan, an expert from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times.

The AFP, citing the Nanfang Daily, reported that an experienced cattle or pig butcher is normally commissioned to butcher a tiger carcass. Tiger bones, which can be used to make an alcoholic beverage and in a medicine that purportedly strengthening the human body, can sell for 14,000 yuan ($2,260) per kilogram. The tiger meat can usually sell for 1,000 yuan per kilogram.