Bear paws seized in Russian van
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E-mail CNTV, June 20, 2013
Chinese authorities have arrested two suspected Russian smugglers and seized more than 200 bear paws stuffed into the wheels of a van trying to cross the border into China. Bear paws have long been considered a delicacy by some people in China. But since the government listed black bears as a protected species, it is now illegal to kill or eat the paws.
When this old Russian mini-van got to border crossing at Manzhouli in North China's Inner Mongolia region, customs officials noticed something was wrong.
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A total of 213 smuggled bear paws confiscated by China's Customs officials are shown in Manzhouli of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on June 17, 2013. |
Yang Xu, Manzhouli Customs Inspector, said, "During our inspection, we noticed the vehicle's driver was paying a lot of attention to our tapping on the vehicle and our movements as we examined it. He was nervous and kept looking at his watch."
Customs officials kicked the tires and found they were especially heavy. So they X-rayed the vehicle and saw abnormal objects inside the tires. The tires were then removed, revealing 213 bear paws; some large, some small. That means at least 54 bears were killed.
Huo Weili, Deputy Chief, Shibali Office of Manzhouli Customs, said, "Smugglers put the bear paws into the tyres to smuggle them into China. In the past we have found tyres being used to smuggle animal parts, including skins, into China. But this is the first time we have seized bear paws."
If there wasn't a market, there wouldn't be killings.
In China, bear paws are believed to have medicinal properties, and some eat them just as delicacy, ignoring the ban. Customs officials say in Russia one kilo of bear paws is worth just over 400 yuan, but once it's smuggled into China, it's about 20 times the price.
These paws were worth about 2.8 million yuan, or nearly half a million U.S. dollars. The two Russian men were arrested, and further investigations are under way.
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