Chinese influencer fined RMB$125,000 after posting shark-eating video on social

A Chinese influencer who cooked and ate an endangered great white shark in a TikTok video has been fined by Chinese authorities with RMB$125,000.

This comes as the Sichuan-based vlogger, who is also known as Jin, was seen last July in a now-deleted video on Chinese short video platforms, Kuaishou and Douyin, unwrapping a two-meter-long shark and showing its length by lying next to it. Jin then took a big bite of the sliced, marinated and cooked shark.

Seven months later, Nanchong Administration For Market Regulation said in a statement that, Jin bought the shark at RMB$7,700 via Taobao in April 2022 and posted the video on the Douyin and Kuaishou. The videos quickly went viral, showing her cooking the great white shark in a spicy broth and eating its meat. The shark in the video was identified as a great white by DNA testing the leftover tissues. "The behaviour of the influencer violated the relevant provisions of the 'Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China', and the Nanchong Market Supervision and Administration Bureau gave punishment according to law," the statement read.

The shark was worth RMB$25,000 and therefore Jin was fined RMB$125,000.  Furthermore, authorities had identified and arrested the the individuals who sold Jin the shark last year.

The blogger is known for posting extreme food videos, showing her eating animals such as crocodiles and ostriches. She had gained 7.8 million followers on Douyin for posting extreme eating challenges. Her account was suspended in July 2022 for "violating the rules of the short video platforms", according to a report by Chinese news outlet Jiemian News.

According to a report by The Standard in August last year, Jin claimed that the shark was purchased though legal channel and that it was a hook teeth shark, which was not endangered. However, officers of the agriculture bureau confirmed that the shark was a great white shark. As China classifies great white sharks as wild animals under level-two protection, Jin is fined for violating China's Wild Animal Conservation Law. 

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This isn't the first Chinese influencer that copped flak for dangerous social media stunts. Back in September 2022, a Chinese influencer has been banned from his Douyin account after uploading a video of himself eating a live wasp which triggered backlash.

(Photo courtesy: Douyin)

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