People vs. tiger tug-of-war angers netizens   

长沙动物园“人虎拔河”引争议 称为增强老虎野性

9月27日，长沙生态动物园进行了“人虎拔河”的比赛。一只东北虎咬住麻袋中的食物，麻袋被一根绳子拴着，游客通过牵拉绳子的另一端和东北虎进行拔河比赛。动物园称这是为了训练东北虎的野性，避免长期圈养使老虎生病。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A tug-of-war competition between a group of people and a tiger at the Changsha Ecological Zoo in Changsha, Hunan province, has infuriated animal rights campaigners.

In the special tug-of-war event held Friday, seven adult visitors tested their strength against a four-year-old manchurian tiger.

The people stood outside the fence enclosing the tiger and held one end of the rope. On the other side, zoo keepers attached a bag containing a live chicken to the other end of the rope, which the tiger bit down on with its mouth.

"The competition was a rehearsal match. The official event will kick off during the National Day holiday starting from Wednesday, and will last until October 7," said Yi Ting, a receptionist at the zoo.

"The competition can encourage tigers to do what they would do naturally in the wild. It will be good for them to be challenged and entertained," said Yi, adding that "We learned the method from other zoos."

"We don't think the tug-of-war can be defined as an animal show, since the match is different from circus shows, which are banned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development."

However, Guo Geng, an expert on animal protection, said the competition is a kind of animal show.

"It is a shame to tease magnificent animals like this," said Guo. "There are other ways to help improve the instincts of wild animals being kept in zoos."

A netizen nicknamed @______SixSix said: "Please leave the poor animal alone! Performances of this kind should be prohibited."

"Such performance will hurt the teeth and mouth of the tiger," said @Li Xiaole Rossiey.

This year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has called a halt to all "animal shows" at zoos and wildlife parks.