food-blogger-eats-very-tender-great-white-shark-meat-in-shocking-video-faces-heavy-backlash

Food Blogger Eats ‘Very Tender’ Great White Shark Meat in Shocking Video, Faces Heavy Backlash

In the early days of social media, it wasn’t all that difficult to gain popularity. As nothing had ever been posted before, everything was a new and exciting idea. As time went on, however, the market became more and more saturated. Today, gaining a following on social media takes a great deal more creativity than it once did.

A willingness to put yourself out there and, frankly, risk making a fool of yourself online, is a must for those who hope to find success. Every now and then, however, this never-ending quest for virality has disastrous consequences.

Influencers have perpetrated some truly heinous acts over the years. From licking public toilet seats to driving blindfolded to riding a jet ski in a swimming pool, it seems there’s no limit to what someone particularly desperate for social media fame will do.

So when a Chinese influencer known as Tizi posted a video of herself eating a huge slab of great white shark meat, the world responded with disgust, but not surprise. “It may look vicious, but its meat is truly very tender,” Tizi explained between bites of shark.

Though shocking, Tizi’s latest stunt is par for the course for the Douyin (a Chinese video sharing platform) influencer. Along with great white shark meat, the food vlogger has filmed herself eating crocodile and ostrich.

In the disturbing video, Tizi unwraps the 6-foot shark and lies down next to it, illustrating its impressive size. She then slices it in half, preps, and cooks it, before eating it with her family.

During the video, Tizi makes the dubious claims that the shark was “edible” and “bred in captivity”. Great white sharks are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, making them a near-endangered species. As such, it’s extremely doubtful that Tizi’s assertions hold any truth.

To make matters worse for the budding gastronomic, great white sharks are protected under Chinese law. Illegal possession of the animal can result in a five to ten-year prison sentence.

Social Media Responds to Disturbing Food Vlogger Video

Unsurprisingly, the internet exploded with outrage as the video made its way from China to the rest of the globe. “After watching this person’s video, I was… speechless,” one Weibo user wrote. “It is flabbergasting that an internet celebrity can eat a protected animal in front of millions in broad daylight!” another said on Douyin.

According to the Paper, an outlet run by the Chinese government, police are already investigating the vlogger. “It cannot be excluded that there is a black market,” they wrote, per the New York Post. “After all, to ship a great white shark from the coastal region to Nanchong [more than 1,100 miles away], it requires coordination.”

“We must harshly crack down on the illegal hunting and trade of endangered wildlife,” they continued. “And eliminate the criminal chain.”