Chinese Circus Ties Endangered Tiger Down So Visitors Can Take Selfies

A video of an endangered tiger being restrained by Chinese circus handlers so it can be used as a photography prop has gone viral on local social media, earning massive criticisms from netizens.

The footage, reportedly filmed at a circus in Hunan province, shows trainers restraining the poor tiger with a rope tied on a metal table, enabling the guests to use the animal as a photo prop.

Visitors, adults and children of all sizes, are seen taking turns to take selfies beside it or to sit on the obviously stressed animal. According to Mashable, the victim of such cruelty is believed to be a Siberian tiger, which now has only 540 creatures left in existence.

As tigers are highly intelligent and powerful hunters, they must be put under constant threat of punishment and intimidation so that they can easily be restrained and used in such way.

The tiger was so tightly bound and strapped in a way that it can’t even lift its head. In the background, a caged bear can be seen pacing around, seemingly exhibiting symptoms of psychological disorder.

So far, the upsetting video has accumulated over 90,000 views on the local video-sharing site iQiyi.

In China, sitting on a tiger is like channeling the God of Wealth in China, an entity commonly depicted sitting on the animal.

A young child was shown in a portion of the video screaming “I’m scared, I’m scared”, while he was being placed near the animal.

The trainer, trying to calm the child, can be heard saying, “Isn’t it cool to sit on a tiger? It can keep you away from the devil and earn you promotions and wealth.”

Netizens, however, have an entirely opposite opinion regarding the matter, with many condemning how the tiger was treated in the circus.

“What kind of values are these parents teaching their children?” an iQiyi asked.

“Poor tiger. The human race is too cruel,” a netizen wrote.

“You can’t earn much from this, and instead you’ve brought so much pain to the animal, do you think it’s worth it?,” another comment read.

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