Chinese Man Filmed Shooting Endangered Bear, Sparking Outcry

An Asiatic black bear (Guérin Nicolas via GNU Free Documentation License)

A Chinese man was filmed shooting an endangered, caged black bear with a machine gun in Burma, also known as Myanmar. He claimed that he did it out of curiosity, according to the Daily Mail.

The government of Burma’s Wa State, which borders China, apparently allowed the man to shoot the bear. The man’s name was not identified.

An expert said the bear in the clip is an Asiatic black bear---an endangered type.

“I told you not to open your mouth. Do that again and I would make you surrender,” the man can be heard telling the bear, as reported by the Mail.

“Video [of the shooting] was not allowed to be shared,” the Daily Mail quoted the man as saying. “I don’t know which tourist sent the video onto the internet in China. I was condemned by the web users.”

Then, he shot the bear once and it fell to the ground. The footage later shows part of bear’s head and its paw, and someone can be seen skinning part of the bear carcass, according to the South China Morning Post.

Other reports said the man opened fire on the bear “out of curiosity.”

The man reportedly is from China’s Shandong province, and he’s believed to be involved in a hunting and animal trafficking gang.

Another tourist is believed to have captured the footage. The clip was shared widely on Chinese social media websites on Dec. 27, sparking widespread condemnation.

“They are the dregs of society – should be punished severely,” one person wrote, according to the SCMP.

Another added: “They don’t have even the slightest piece of mercy for animals.”

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