Chinese authorities stopped a van on the China-Vietnam border and discovered it contained bear paws, a python skin, and a pangolin:
The bear paws — also used in some traditional medicines — weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms)… The python skin — used in the two-stringed violin-like instrument called the Chinese Erhu — was over 16.4 feet (five meters) long. It is illegal to trade unlicensed pythons under Chinese law.
Jill Robinson, founder of Hong Kong-based animal welfare charity Animals Asia, said the paws likely came from bear farms, and the seizure highlights the need to take a closer look at the bear farm industry.
She said bear farms are not regulated enough, and parts are often smuggled across borders — an illegal practice under Chinese and international law.
See also a past CDT post on a similar seizure in 2006.
