Bear Fur Salesman in China

Greetings,

Was walking to the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China when I saw this character. There were hoards of people trying to sell anything and everything to all the foreign “buyers” as they went into the fair. Supposedly it is illegal to sell bear fur in China but the police just told him to stop harassing the shows guests.

This reminds me of Chiang Mai. Supposedly there is a ban against street elephants that are used for begging. That said, the usual crew always comes through the tourist / backpacker area every night. Later in the evening the full grown one comes. The elephants do not look healthy or happy to say the least.

I spoke with a gent who works at one of the clubs and he told me the cops don’t care. The only way to stop these things is to end the demand. I’ve never fed an elephant and I never will. On that note, not sure why so many tourists get so excited about petting a severely drugged tiger. In photos, I’ve never seen one that looked even remotely awake.

Tips hat,

P.S: I’d like to pet a tiger but it has to be one that *might* claw my face.

Note: To see the image larger, right click “view image”.