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Footage of monkeys that were allegedly abused during a live performance at a tourist attraction has sparked outrage in China.
The incident took place at Longquan Ancient Town Drama Fantasy City in Luquan District, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
Clips showed a macaque fitted with a metal muzzle and wearing a yellow vest forced to kneel on the bottom by a person who was speaking right into a microphone and addressing the gang full of youngsters.
The person then covered the monkey’s head with a black cloth and tied its arms behind it to a plastic pipe.
He picked up a prop gun and appeared to simulate shooting the monkey, after which the animal dropped to the bottom and lay still.
One other monkey was seen tethered by a protracted rope around its neck, with two other monkeys seen within the background tied up.
The video prompted a wave of complaints from viewers who described the scenes as distressing and accused the show of animal abuse.
Staff at Longquan Ancient Town told media outlets that the monkey act was run by an outsourced performance team and that the attraction only provided the venue, with no involvement within the day-to-day management of the show.
After receiving multiple complaints, the scenic area said it had terminated its contract with the performance partner and halted the act.
Customer support representatives confirmed the show had been faraway from the programme.
Officials from the Luquan District Culture, Radio, Television, Sports and Tourism Bureau said that they were aware of the general public outcry and had launched an investigation.
They confirmed that the performers involved were members of an external team somewhat than employees of the tourist site. The investigation is ongoing.
In 2023, a sadistic monkey torture ring that allowed online users pay to look at videos of primates being abused was exposed.
The worldwide network, which stretched from the US to Indonesia, was uncovered by the BBC after a year-long investigation.
The World Service, working alongside animal activists, discovered tons of of individuals within the US, UK and other countries paying Indonesians to torture and kill baby long-tailed macaques on camera.
The videos were initially uploaded onto YouTube, but as demand grew for increasingly extreme abuse, private groups on the encrypted messaging app Telegram were arrange.
As a part of the investigation, police were informed, and various people connected to the ring were arrested.
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