Animals Eaten Alive in Unregulated Chinese Zoos (this makes me sick)
Animals Eaten Alive in Unregulated Chinese Zoos
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For private zoo patrons in Wuhan, China, it costs five dollars to get the
"safari experience:" A seat at a fight to the death between an injured cow
and a group of tigers.
It's not much of a battle.
The zoo bills the event as similar to what one would see in the wild, and
is allowed to stage them because China has few laws governing how zoos are
run or who runs them. The shows are wildly popular, and often the sole
reason patrons visit the facilities. The number of such zoos has grown
steadily.
Many of those who spoke with CTV News at the "safari experience" spoke of
their alarm at seeing the spectacle. However, thousands every year attend
the shows, making them a profitable venture.
While the money may be good, the treatment of the animals is barbaric, say
animal rights groups.
Rob Laidlaw of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) says
he's appalled by what he's seen of the exotic animal shows, and doesn't
think they teach much about the animals in their natural habitat.
"It's horrendously cruel," Laidlaw told CTV News. "You've got an animal
that's being preyed upon -- it can be an ostrich or cow or a pig, or even
in some cases horses -- that are put into barren enclosures with predatory
animals like lions and tigers, so it's completely artificial."
In between fights, the predators are often fed bones to keep them hungry,
their keepers in Wuhan said. They are kept in cages barely large enough to
pace around in and often have visible injuries. This leaves the cats in
fierce spirits when released into the battle arena, producing a lively
show for their audience.
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