Li Quan
Wildlife conservationist Li Quan initially enlisted the help of John Varty (wildlife filmmaker) and Dave Varty (eco-tourism developer) in South Africa to assist in the rehabilitation process. However, Li Quan and her husband, investment banker Stuart Bray, became concerned that the Vartys were misusing the project's funds to buy land for themselves. Later, in July 2002, the Vartys admitted to borrowing a small portion of Bray's money. After a legal audit, it was discovered that over R5-million had been borrowed by the Vartys, having been used to pay off the Vartys' Londolozi Productions debt on unauthorized salaries. Some of the money was also said to have gone into the Vartys' personal loan accounts and towards paying off their Betty's Bay seaside property. Finally, in October 2002, a few weeks before an agreement was due to be signed with Chinese authorities after the Chinese Wildlife Department began to recognize the project's conservation value, the Vartys pulled out of the project. John Varty has since founded his own "tiger rewilding" project, Tiger Canyons, also near Philippolis, using the land he acquired with Bray's funds. However, because Tiger Canyons uses unendangered hybrid breeds of tigers, it has been criticized as having no conservation value, as well as for being used solely for the purpose of creating the film "Living with Tigers", which would air on Discovery Channel.