Miyun pressured into shelving game park
- Source: Global Times
- [08:40 April 12 2011]
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By Huang Shaojie
A controversial game resort development plan has been put on hold in Miyun county in response to criticism from local lawmakers and animal rights activists.
"The county government has heard the opinions of all parties concerned and decided to revise its plan for the resort," read an official reply to an inquiry regarding the resort filed during the 13th Beijing People's Congress.
Part of the revision involves halting talks with prospective investors, according to the reply, which Beijing legislator Shen Mengpei and former deputy of the Haidian People's Congress Li Xiaoxi published Monday via a group mailing list of the city's animal protection communities.
Miyun county unveiled a restoration plan in December last year for its 400-hectare resort that featured clay pigeon shooting and game hunting for deer and foxes raised in captivity.
Obsolete facilities and financial difficulties forced the resort to close down in 2000, but the county hoped to reopen it with an investment of 30 to 50 million yuan ($4.59 million to 7.65 million), Miyun's tourism bureau chief Guo Lixin told news portal qianlong.com on December 3. Guo claimed the county had the State's approval for wildlife farming.
Beijing's animal protection activists have lobbied against the resort's reopening, calling game hunting unnecessarily cruel.
"Human civilization has long passed the point where we had to hunt for food," said vegan group Don't Eat Friends founder Xie Zheng.
Opponents' voices were augmented when politicians joined in the protest.
"Many are worried about whether hunting is suitable for China, not least of all its capital," Li wrote to county authorities on December 9, 2010.
Promoting game hunting could also send a misleading message encouraging the killing of wildlife, Li warned.
