'Illegal delicacy': Chinese food blogger faces five years in prison for cooking endangered great white shark
Live streams on YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms are sources of livelihoods for many. However, recently, a food blogger is facing legal action after she cooked a great white shark in one of her recent live streams. Chinese food blogger Tizi recently shared a video of herself enjoying the 'delicacy'. The food blogger faces five years in prison after illegally cooking and eating the protected animal.
The video was posted on July 14, in which Tizi said that the meat was "edible" and that the shark was "bred in captivity." Several social media users have challenged this notion. Great white sharks are endangered. They usually mate only in the wild and take years to reach maturity. Therefore, it is illegal to kill them.
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The Sun newspaper, which reported the incident, revealed that the blogger faced major backlash after posting the video online. Tizi had shared the video on Chinese streaming channel Duoyin and has approximately 8 million followers. The blogger collected the six-foot long shark at a seafood shop in the southwestern city of Nanchong in Sichuan province, as seen in the clip. Amid the gazes of curious onlookers she unwrapped the creature and even laid down beside it to show the difference in size. She then proceeded to slice it into two halves and barbecued its tail before boiling its head in a spicy broth. She also shared the food with the local villagers, who were seen praising the dish.
She said in the video, "It may look vicious, but its meat is truly super tender." Criticism grew after this statement, and so the video was taken down. Tizi's online fame has grown rapidly because of her sweet looks and "bold food choices." Even earlier, she has devoured exotic animals in her videos, including crocodiles and ostriches.
Tizi first claimed that it was a hook tooth shark to escape charges, but the creature has been determined as endangered. 'Global Times' reported an official stating that if the shark was a juvenile, the punishment will be more severe. Along with imprisonment, the blogger will also have to pay a fine if she purchased it illegally. However, it is said that the local shop that was shown in her video was only used for the location and had nothing to do with the purchase. People who allegedly acquired the creature from the eastern Chinese Fujian province have also been detained by the authorities.