First it was throwing snow balls at lions, next crocodiles were stoned and
now roosters have become shooting targets.
It seems tourists in China have been making the news for treating animals
unkindly.
At a recent ice festival on Jan 14 in Jilin province of China, it was
reported that live roosters were used as targets in a traditional archery
event. Apparently, it is customary to shoot live chickens as they symbolise the
prey in Chinese-Korean folklore.
This caused controversy as some tourists felt it was cruel. In a forum
discussion on ChinaSmack, netizens expressed their concerns. Naruto questioned
if having fun as method of attracting tourists at the expense of animals is
okay. He also added that doing so disregards life forms in general.
In another incident, China Daily also reported that hibernating crocodiles
were allegedly stoned by visitors at a zoo in Shenzhen, Guangdong province,
because the sightseers wanted to check they were alive.
Visitors hurled bottles, rubbish and even stones at the sleeping reptiles,
turning a blind eye to signs erected around the crocodile pool urging people
not to disturb the animals, an official from the zoo said.
Zookeepers urged visitors to behave themselves. "It is hard to keep an eye
on every visitor all the time," the official said.
According to the official, the zoo used to have five to six crocodiles, but
now they only have two.
Earlier in January, AsiaOne also reported a group of Chinese visitors
hurling snowballs at lions in a zoo enclosure. Their actions were caught on
camera and photos that surfaced circulated online.
Chinese netizens expressed horror and shame at such behaviour. Some called
for the culprits to be named and shamed, while others said they were ashamed of
their own countrymen.
maryanns@sph.com.sg
A contestant shoots a live rooster at a archery event at the Jilin Ice Festival
in China on Jan 14, 2013.
A rooster that was shot is seen struggling at the Jilin Ice Festival held
recently in China.
A staff hanging the live rooster. Apparently, the Chinese-Korean archery event
is traditional custom and according to folklore live chickens symbolise the
prey.
Chinese zoo visitors allegedly threw snowballs at lions at the Hangzhou zoo.
Usually kings of the jungle, the lions were helpless when they were faced with
snowballs hurled at them by zoo visitors.
Chinese netizens were outraged by a series of photos showing visitors hurling
snowballs at the animals.
According to Chinese websites, the visitors started making snowballs the moment
they spotted the lions.
The moment the lions felt something was amiss, the female lioness hid under a
wooden plank, while the male lion hid behind a tree.
The lions dodged the first snowball, but other visitors followed suit, making
more snowballs and tossing them at the lions.
