Chinese tourist kills an endangered bear with a machine gun 'out of curiosity' in Myanmar

A Chinese man who killed a caged and endangered black bear with a machine gun claimed that he did it out of curiosity during a sightseeing tour in Myanmar. The man said he shot the bear dead after having gained permission from the government in Myanmar's Wa State, which borders China, according to Beijing News. The man, whose name has not been revealed, also claimed his weapon had been provided by the local government. An expert has identified the bear in the video to be an Asiatic black bear, an endangered animal species.

The man's shocking behaviour was captured on a video believed to be shot by another tourist in the same group. The video became widely shared on Chinese social media on December 27 and sparked controversy. In the video, the man can be heard yelling in a Chinese dialect to the bear, which was kept in a cage: 'I told you not to open your mouth. Do that again and I would make you surrender.'
He then gave the bear one shot with the gun and the bear fell to the ground.  The video also showed several bear paws lying on the ground near the cage. One man could be seen cutting fur off a dead bear later in the video. In an updated report released today by Beijing News, a man from eastern China's Shandong Province claimed responsible for the matter.  He issued a statement in a video filmed outside a police station. The man claimed that he had just dealt with the matter in the police station. According to the man, the bear was about to be executed by the local government in Wa State of Myanmar after hurting people. He said he saw the execution and felt 'curious' as a tourist, so he asked if he could kill the bear. He insisted that he had got permission before shooting the bear dead. The man also claimed that the criticism on social media had brought trouble to his life, therefore he would like to provide an explanation.
He said: 'Video [of the shooting] was not allowed to be shared. I don't know which tourist sent the video onto the internet in China. I was condemned by the web users. I would like to clarify the matter.'

At the end of his statement, the man called on the public to protect animals. He said: 'Take this as a lesson. Protect animals. Start from ourselves.'
It remains unclear whether or not the Chinese authority would bring charges against the man.