A macaque looks out of a cage at a zoo in Fuling District, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 15, 2017. (Photo/CFP)
(ECNS) -- A small zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing has suspended business following media reports of dreadful living conditions of the animals there.
The nicknamed "one-man's zoo" in Wangzhou Park, Chongqing's Fuling District, is home to 20 animals, including an African lioness, a black bear, an ostrich, a fox and some monkeys. The space provided for the listless animals ranges from two to five square meters each.
The zoo was mainly looked after by Tan Decai, who is also the boss, cleaner, guard and guide at the facility, according to a previous report. One ticket to the zoo is 10 yuan ($1.4).
Tan was also pictured washing the meat of an ostrich, which was killed by its neighbor jackal. Tan said it would be a waste to throw the meat away.
In the latest report by Beijing Youth Daily, Tan said the zoo is not in his sole care as was reported before. Another keeper also works there but he was sick at the time of the last media report, Tan added.
An local official said Tan has been running the zoo since the park was built in the late 1970s. As the only zoo in Fuling, it was in a good position until ten years ago As the only zoo in Fuling, it was in a good position until ten years ago, when it began to suffer financial losses due to fewer visitors and a lack of funds
There were many private zoos booming in the 1980s and 1990s, but they have quickly gotten lost in competition with new and bigger ones in recent years, said Qi Xinzhang, vice director of the Xining Wildlife Park in Qinghai Province.
In October 2010, a ministry ordered zoos to be public and banned renting the facilities for private businesses. However, the regulation has not been strictly implemented, according to an insider.
