Video on Chinese website appears to show whale shark struggling on ground as two men saw it into chunks
About 20 people crowd around snapping photos, while others express shock, as giant fish is taken apart
A viral video that recently surfaced online in China shows a crowd gathered around two men sawing what appears to be a live whale shark struggling on the ground, a news website reports.
Some gasped in horror saying: “This is too cruel.” Others came forward to snap photos standing next to it.
The whale shark, the largest known fish and reaching more than 12 metres in length, is protected by law from being hunted or sold for its meat. People who violate the law can face criminal charges.
It’s unclear where the incident took place. But the Weibo user who posted the video online told reporters from Thepaper.cn he witnessed the scene in Yangjiang in southern Guangdong province. He had no further details of where the whale shark came from.
Wang Dong, a scientist at the Songshuhui Association of Science Communicators, identified the animal as a whale shark. The International Union for Conservation of Nature also classifies the species as vulnerable.
