China's rich and powerful taking to hunting; 1 killed

A growing number of China's rich and powerful people are taking to hunting in a big way, posing serious threats to environment and humans as a government official shot dead a woman "mistaking" her to a wild boar.
Xiao Weidong, who worked with a local food and drug administration, killed the woman, 57, in Hengdong county, Hunan province on November 9 during a hunting trip. He later surrendered himself to police.
Many local hunting associations have become "clubs for the rich and the powerful", an anonymous retired judicial official was quoted as saying by News portal thepaper.Cn.
"There are only limited seats for membership. The unspoken rule was that whoever has power or money can join the clubs," state-run Global Times quoted the portal report as saying.

Regarded as a new trend displaying the wealth of rich, hunting has emerged in recent years as the communist giant took to widespread economic reforms.
A list of hunting club's members acquired by the report showed many are officials in city or county governments, or executives of State-owned enterprises.

The head of a hunting association in Miluo said people are required to pay 21,500 yuan (USD 3,474) to join its shooting club and another 8,000 yuan for the association. Miscellaneous fees could raise the membership cost to around 100,000 yuan.
A member surnamed Li said in other provinces, a five-year membership costs 300,000 yuan (USD 50,000).

Hunting associations were initially established to protect crops from wild animals in the early 90s. Registered hunting associations can keep guns with the approval of local public security authorities during the hunting season.
China implemented a strict gun policy in October 1996, which says any group or individual is banned from possessing, manufacturing or trading firearms.
"The guns are strictly managed and should be returned to authorities at the end of the hunting season, which is from September to December," a member told the daily, adding that Xiao would have obtained the gun from other sources other than the club.

Environmental workers and volunteers have also said a growing number of people, many of whom are government employees, have taken to hunting in recent years.
"Many acquire guns from illicit sources. Not just low-level government employees but people with connections and social status. They are powerful and even if they are caught hunting, they can easily get away with it," Gao Dali, an environmental protection official from a East Dongting Lake Natural Reserve in Yueyang, told the news portal.