Animals Asia position paper on live animal feeding

[Guest guest]

Animals Asia position paper on live animal feeding

 

Animals Asia has been following the issue of live

animal feeding in China’s zoos and wildlife parks

since exposing the brutal practice in 1999.

 

We are appalled to learn of the continued

incidence of barbaric animal cruelty highlighted

in recent international media reports. These

refer to live goats being thrown into a pit full

of hungry lions and slowly ripped apart – all for

the “entertainment” of the crowds, which include

small children. Worse, children are even

encouraged to take part in the brutality – by

dangling terrified live chickens on “fishing

lines” above the lions. Shockingly, this is

taking part in Badaling Safari Park in Beijing –

the host city for this year’s Olympic Games.

 

Similar reports of such animal cruelty have been

reported widely in recent years including live

animal feeding at Shanghai Wildlife Park,

Heilongjiang Tiger Park in Harbin and Xiongsen

Bear & Tiger Mountain in Guilin. Once again this

demonstrates the appalling lack of animal welfare

legislation within China and Chinese zoos leading

to these despicable acts of cruelty which reflect

poorly upon modern China and serve only to tar

the country’s international image.

 

In the light of this year’s “Green” Olympic Games

in Beijing, where the messages of environmental

protection and conservation are at the forefront

of promotion and celebration, it is truly tragic

that directors of parks such as Badaling continue

to allow such horrific acts of cruelty and

disrespect to the wild and domestic species within their care.

 

As well as continuing to lobby the Chinese

Government to try to bring about a halt to such

shows, Animals Asia is offering to take a pair of

endangered Moon Bears with rusting steel nose

rings that are chained up in tiny cages at

Badaling Safari Park. One of these poor bears

spends most of its time shaking its head and

bashing into the bars of its cage. We are waiting

to hear back as to whether our offer is successful.

 

Animals Asia is also working towards the

abolition of live animal feeding with the China

Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) in

Beijing, which has secured regulations to stop this practice.

 

In October 2007 following numerous reports of

live animal feeding across China, a spokesman for

the State Forestry Administration, Cao Qingyao

said “Performances that include feeding live

animals to wild beasts must be stopped. Forestry

authorities will heavily penalise all relevant

departments and institutions who organize these

kinds of performances.” However, it has still

not been written into Chinese law, so cannot be

classed as illegal and, therefore, continues largely unabated.

 

I urge you to do all that you can to encourage

the Chinese Government to implement comprehensive

legislation to protect both wild and domestic

animals from all forms of abuse, and to outlaw

the practice of live animal feeding in Chinese zoos.

 

We suggest you write a polite letter to the

Chinese Ambassador and send it to the main

Embassy address in your country. Embassy

addresses can be found at:

<http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy>www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy.