Victory! Guangzhou Zoo In China Ends Its Circus Wild Animal Performances

WAN is thrilled to share the news that as of this month, the Guangzhou Zoo in China will no longer feature a circus show that has been exploiting innocent animals for the last 24 years.

Perhaps in response to the public’s growing disdain for the mistreatment of animals in shows, the Guangzhou Zoo finally made the long-overdue decision to end the circus once and for all; opting not to extend its contract which expired on August 31, 2017.

This means wild animals, including elephants, gorillas, Siberian tigers, black bears, and monkeys, will no longer be forced to perform between a ridiculous six to ten times a day in these sadly produced shows.

Yet, the conflict remains as Xinhuanet reported that over this past weekend, the circus, which is protesting the zoo’s decision, still put on a show, “where monkeys rode bikes, gorillas played drums and bears did headstands on high-rise bars” in front of an audience of a few dozen people.

The Guangzhou Zoo originally gained national notoriety in the 1960s when it became one of the first zoos in China with a circus performance.

The zoo announced plans to transform the area formerly used by the circus med into a scientific exhibition and education center.

“Visitors can learn knowledge about animals at the center in a respectful way,” Lin Xingrong, director of the zoo office stated on Ecns.cn. “Our aim is to show animals in the most natural state possible. In recent years, we have installed facilities in the zoo to improve the activities and living conditions of the animals.”

While China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development released a report in 2010 recommending zoos stop animal performances, sadly, some continue to exist in both permanent and traveling zoos throughout the country.

May the decision by Guangzhou Zoo to stop circuses with animal performances be upheld and set an example for others to stop the abhorrent and abusive performances of wild animals as well.