SHEN Yihang: A Whale Shark Died in an Oceanarium in Chengdu City, and Its Bizarre Death Caused an Uproar | CBCGDF Media Reports

On September 19, 2024, a piece of news #A Whale Shark Died in an Oceanarium, in Chengdu City # became a hot search.

According to reports, a whale shark in Chengdu Haohai Cube Oceanarium was reported dead recently. And the staff of nearby shops said that the whale shark was dead and had not seen a whale shark since September 11. It is reported that no whale shark was seen on the scene on September 16. 

It was reported that the oceanarium responded that the whale shark was not dead, but was released into the ocean, but the staff said they would not accept media interviews. However, on September 18, a staff member of the Chengdu Municipal Agriculture and Rural Bureau told reporters that the whale shark did die at around 5 pm on September 11. At that time, the oceanarium reported it in time, and had sent people to take samples to test the cause of death. The related report will take another 3 weeks to produce results.

In China's wildlife protection policy, whale sharks are national second-level protected animals.Is it appropriate to keep a whale shark in a small space in an aquarium? Is this practice out of appreciation for life or the pursuit of commercial interests? Why did the aquarium not take the initiative to publicize the death of the whale shark? It was not until the media and the public openly discussed it that the relevant departments of Chengdu responded?

The author has three more questions: Is the animal welfare of this whale shark fully guaranteed? How to keep a whale shark? Is the source of the whale shark captured in the wild or artificially bred?

According to the classification of the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, whale sharks have been listed as "endangered species". In the past 75 years, the number of whale sharks has decreased by about 63%. This sharp decline has prompted the international community to pay close attention to the protection of whale sharks. Moreover, whale sharks grow slowly and have a long reproduction cycle. Once the population declines, it will be extremely difficult to recover.

Many people believe that aquariums are popular science institutions. Of course, the author dare not speculate on the situation of this one here. However, looking at a larger scope, there have been cases in the past that some aquariums are the behind-the-scenes drivers of illegal wildlife trade (IWT).

Today, whale sharks are listed as endangered species in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and their fishing and trade are strictly restricted. Of course, I am willing to guess that it died of natural aging. But if not, there may be more questions worth tracing: Where did this whale shark in the aquarium come from? Was it caught in the wild or artificially bred? And, in the process of argumentation, which experts participated? If it was approved, did it go through a strict ethical review at the time?

Original article:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nGvX1TboeEg3HYPEWXQx7A

Translator: Daisy

Checked by Sara

Editor: Daisy

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