Chinese energy firm buys huge whale carcass ‘for dog food’
Fishing authority says company paid 4,000 yuan for animal remains, newspaper reports
A company from southeast China has bought the carcass of a dead whale weighing eight tonnes to use as dog food, according to a newspaper report.
The local fishing authority in Jiangxi province said Risun Solar Energy had bought the whale for 4,000 yuan (HK$4,500) in neighbouring, coastal Zhejiang province, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The firm is based in Xinyu in Jiangxi and staff have started carving up the animal, according to the article.
Witnesses were quoted as saying there was a strong smell of blood after the carcass was loaded on to a truck and they had never seen such a huge beast before.
An unnamed official said the firm’s boss would probably use the whale meat as dog food.
Whales are a protected species in China and people buying, selling or using products made from the creatures must obtain permission from the authorities.
The authorities in Jiangxi are contacting their counterparts in Zhejiang to check whether the company has the necessary approvals, the report said.
