Safari Park Faces Online Backlash After Tiger-Whipping Video Surfaces
People were shocked by recent viral footage of a trainer repeatedly whipping a tiger in the face during a circus-style performance at Hangzhou Safari Park in China.
In the video, a white tiger can be seen trying to take a stick from a trainer, who appears to be antagonizing the animal among a group of the big cats. Once another trainer sees what the tiger is up to, the whipping begins. In an attempt to escape the blows, the tiger falls into a pool and struggles frantically to climb out via an unsecured ladder. As the video ends, one tiger is shown with a bloody face wound, and according to reports, the animal’s fangs had also been removed.
A Beijing-based animal-protection organization uploaded the video earlier this month, and it has already been viewed more than 140 million times on Chinese social media.
A business that depends on treating wild animals like commodities can hardly be expected to come clean about the abuse that it routinely inflicts on them in order to keep them subservient— but the video footage speaks for itself.
Public attitudes have shifted away from supporting the use of animals for entertainment. People around the world are realizing that wild animals don’t perform on stage because they want to but because they’ve learned that if they don’t, they’ll be whipped, beaten, or otherwise tormented.
Reject All Facilities That Exploit Animals for Entertainment
As long as zoos, circuses, and marine parks continue to profit from imprisoning animals, abuse and death will remain part of their business model. Instead of visiting these cruel facilities, consider supporting an accredited sanctuary or attending a lively, non-animal performance. Use this opportunity to explain to your friends and family why animals don’t belong in captivity and why attending captive-animal displays supports cruelty.
