People can pay to participate in the 'game' in which they pull on a rope that passes into the tigers' enclosure. Attached to the tigers' end is a hessian bag with a live chicken inside.
The spectacle, which animal rights activists claim falls foul of a new law banning the use of animals for entertainment, is set to launch at Changsha Ecological Zoo, in Hunan province, at the upcoming week-long National Day holiday, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
The game of tug-of-war with a tiger has been
condemned as inappropriate by animal rights activists after it emerged
in a Chinese zoo
Sure enough, the magnificent big cats were quick to take the bait, pulling hard on the chicken sack when visitors started to tug on the rope.
According to the Sina English news service, one four-year-old Amur tiger won a game pitched against seven tourists.
Yi Ting, a media officer at the zoo, told the news service the game was designed to 'train' and 'stimulate' wild Siberian tigers.
The first tourists were invited to try out the game on Friday, but few were any match for the magnificent big cats
Once a Siberian tiger digs in its claws, they normally win the game, Yi told the Sina news service
Yi also claimed the game would help prevent the animals from getting sick, caused by long term captivity.
In China, under a Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development regulation, animal shows have been banned in zoos since July.
Animal rights activist Guo Geng, a Beijing local political advisor, said human-tiger games would surely fall under that law.
The big cats are enticed to pull on a bag containing a live chicken
He told the news service the game also insulted tigers.
Other Chinese comments online, translated by the news service, agree with Guo that the spectacle in inappropriate. One person worried the tigers' teeth might torn out.
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