China’s Shanghai zoo, is storing the
bones of dead tigers in distilled spirits and selling the resulting
tonic as a health supplement

The zoo, which keeps up to a dozen tigers, has linked up with an
alcohol producer to make the tiger bone elixir, which purportedly can
help sufferers of arthritis and rheumatism, the Beijing News said
Friday.

A bottle of the medicinal wine sells for 150 to 200 yuan (19 to 25 dollars), it added.

According to the maker of the drink, the bones come from tigers that
have died from old age or from accidental causes, the paper said.

An official with Shanghai’s animal safety administration has questioned
the legality of the enterprise and has pledged to investigate the
operation, the paper said.

Tiger bones have long been used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine,
but in recent decades the practice has slowly disappeared as tigers
worldwide have become an endangered species.