Fancy croc meat, instead of sharks' fin?

BEIJING - Many Chinese wedding banquets feature the ubiquitous sharks' fin soup.

But one wedding banquet in Xiaoshan city, in eastern China's Zhejiang province boasted something even more of a novelty - a crocodile.

A netizen said one of his friends went to the city to attend the ceremony. The friend was surprised to see a crocodile at the banquet. The animal was dissected and served to the guests.

Numerous netizens have been shocked by the report and are urging people to be kind to the protected animals.

Although the credibility of this story has not been confirmed yet, netizens say crocodiles are often seen at wedding banquets in Xiaoshan and Yuhang in the province.

According to one local official, crocodiles are legally-protected animals in China.

In 2003, the State Forestry Administration of China lifted a ban on the commercial use of 54 artificially domesticated wild animals, including crocodiles.

In the meantime, administration procedures are strictly implemented. The killing, breeding and trading of wild animals requires government approval in China.