中国进口濒危非洲象引争议

Wildlife conservationists are up in arms over the sale of more than 20 baby elephants from Zimbabwe to Chinese zoos, with major concerns cited over zoo conditions. On July 6, the animals arrived in the southern city of Guangzhou from Zimbabwe, according to animal rights activist Hu Chunmei. Campaigners from several organizations raised questions on the treatment of animals in captivity in China. Hu said in 2012, several zoos in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, and in the western Xinjiang region, purchased four elephants from Zimbabwe but one died after arriving in China and two other elephants have gone missing. The buyer of the elephant calves remains unknown. For weeks before the shipment of the animals, activists urged the Zimbabwe government to cancel the deal. Zimbabwe officials said the elephant population has become too large and that the animals can generate fiscal revenue of US$ 40,000 to 60,000 per elephant. In response to the widely-publicized animal rights campaign, Zimbabwe officials have argued that the sale of the elephants is part of conservation efforts, as the alternative measure to resizing the herd population would have been to cull the animals. Animals under zoo captivity in China often suffer from notoriously sub-standard conditions. According to the animal welfare NGO China Zoo Watch, many African elephants on display in cities across China from the eastern province of Shandong to the southern region of Guangxi, have faced inhumane treatment. For Caixin Online, this is Diana Bates. 20余只野生非洲象幼仔于7月5日从津巴布韦出发，通过空运来到中国广东，这是是中国历史上最大的一宗非洲象进口。7月6日，这批小象如约而至。动物保护志愿者胡春梅对财新记者表示，志愿者们分别从广州白云机场工作人员和一个货运公司处得到证实，小象们已经抵达中国。 7月6日，津巴布韦环境部长Saviour Kasukuwere确认了这一消息。众多国际动物保护组织数月以来关于津巴布韦出口濒危物种非洲象的猜测终被证实，新一轮争议由此引发。 对于中国和津巴布韦来说，这一桩交易并不违法。 1989年，CITES《濒临绝种野生动植物国际贸易公约》禁止国际间的象牙贸易，并将非洲象列入附录一，即禁止该物种的国际交易。但1997年津巴布韦境内大象重新列为公约“附录二”等级物种，即在符合一定条件的情况下，“附录二”的物种可以进行贸易。这意味着，从津巴布韦出口野生小象到中国并不违法。 津巴布韦方面表示，该国的大象数量“太多了”，津巴布韦是世界上大象拥有量最多的国家之一，该国政府正有计划地在以每只4万-6万美元的价格出口幼年非洲象。贩卖大象所得的收入将用于支付巡护员的工资和支持经营状况不佳的国家公园。 早在小象运到中国前数月，非洲的动物保护组织已经获知了津巴布韦方面捕获数十头小象的消息。一些野生动物保护专家四处奔走，希望来自公众的国际压力可以让津巴布韦政府改变出口的决定。最终，这些小象还是登上了前往万里之外陌生国度的航班。 动物保护组织的担心并非完全没有道理。志愿者团体“动物园观察”表示，1990年以来，中国各地动物园竞相购买非洲象。但这些被购买的非洲象命运堪忧，威海、柳州等地都爆出非洲象瘦骨嶙峋、状况凄惨。 2012年，有4头津巴布韦大象幼仔被从野外捕获后运往位于中国太原和新疆动物园，有一头小象到达之后不久就已证实死亡。胡春梅表示，据调查，仅有一头小象目前还在展出，极有可能另外两头小象也已经死亡。 * * * 特别声明：财新金融英语由财新传媒出品。所刊载内容之知识产权为财新传媒及/或相关权利人专属所有或持有。未经许可，禁止进行转载、摘编、复制及建立镜像等任何使用。