Disney's latest blockbuster Zootopia, an animated film that features a con artist fox, has given rise to the illicit online sale of foxes that are designated protected animals in China.
An anonymous seller from online forum Baidu Tieba told the Global Times on Thursday that fennec foxes, a species featured in the Disney movie, are imported from Africa and are priced at 25,000 yuan ($3,855) each.
"Fennec foxes are under second-class State protection in China, so you need to apply for a certificate from your local forestry bureau to keep one," the seller said.
The seller confirmed that business has boomed since the release of Zootopia.
"They are easy to keep. You can feed them dog food, cat food or insects," the seller noted.
The fennec fox is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which names animals that may face the threat of extinction without strict regulations curbing trade in them.
China's Ministry of Forestry announced in April 1993 that species inscribed in Appendix I and Appendix II of the CITES are placed under first-class and second-class State protection in China, respectively.
"Trade in animals under State protection requires certificates from both the animal's country of origin and from the National Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office of China," said a wildlife protection official at the forestry bureau in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Chengdu-based China West City Daily reported Wednesday.
However, information on the sale of red foxes and fennec foxes can be easily spotted on Baidu Tieba and e-commerce platform Taobao.
Zootopia topped the Chinese box office in the week ending March 13, earning 578 million yuan in the country since its opening on March 4. The movie tells the story of a rabbit police officer and a fox con artist who uncover a conspiracy involving the disappearance of other animal civilians.
