Animal rights groups seek performance ban

Animal rights groups are calling for a ban on all animal performances in China, including live shows, petting zoos and photo sessions.

Animal performances and circus shows, especially in Beijing, have “seriously impaired the country’s and city’s image with brutality and savage behavior”, Liu Huili, an animal rights supporter and researcher with Green Beagle, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization, said at a symposium on April 14.

Attendees at the symposium, including researchers and volunteers from Green Beagle, China Zoo Watch and the Beijing Loving Animals Foundation, proposed the performance ban, especially in the capital city.

China Zoo Watch conducted a study from January 2011 to the end of March, in which it surveyed more than 40 zoos nationwide. It found than animal performances, which it claims often involve acts of cruelty, are common nationwide.

About 50 percent of urban zoos, 91 percent of animal parks and 89 percent of aquariums offer such performances, according to the survey.

Performances include animal wire walking, jumping through fire loops, standing upside down and boxing, which “might seriously impair the animals’ physical and psychological health”, Liu said.