Circus Controversy: 300 circuses reject animal abuse accusations

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More than 300 circuses in China have made a joint statement against accusations of animal abuse, saying it had threatened their work. Faced with anger from animal protection activists, how are these circuses coping? Natasha Hussain has the story.

They may be the stars of the show in the eyes of the spectators.

But for animal protection groups, they are captives forced to perform repetitious tricks.

A recent animal abuse accusation is pushing some Chinese circuses to the center of a controversy.

ZHANG YONGHENG DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL CIRCUS ASSOCIATION OF YONGQIAO DISTRICT, SUZHOU "This is the current condition: the behaviors of animal abuse do exist in only a very small number of circuses. But most of the 182 private circuses in our region respect the related rules and regulations."

The city of Suzhou in east China's Anhui province is known as the "hometown of Chinese circuses".

It accounts for 70 percent of the national circus market.

In 2010, China came up with regulations to ban animal performances that were abusive in nature.

And in the same year, authorities also asked to ban animal performances in zoos and parks in the country.

But there is still no specific law to further regulate the circus industry.

ZHANG YONGHENG DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL CIRCUS ASSOCIATION OF YONGQIAO DISTRICT, SUZHOU "We are actually protecting animals, especially those which are endangered. If they are not allowed to perform in circuses, they will be left without care and die soon. If these animals can serve their market value and have their living conditions improved at the same time, isn't it better protection?"

However, Zhang's view towards animal protection is not shared by some others.

WANG JING CHINA BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION & GREEN DEV'T FOUNDATION "The circus industry is a commercial one. Circuses have the goal of gaining profits to support the entire crew and cover daily expenses. So their goal to breed animals is not aimed at the resurgence of certain animal species. It's two concepts that we need to differentiate."

Circus performances used to be a sensation loved by people from both home and abroad.

However, calls for animal protection grew stronger and stronger over the decades.

The number of circuses in China is decreasing, and other countries are also seeing this similar trend.

Last year, the famous American circus Ringling Brothers closed down after more than a century of operations.

Experts believe that the changing attitudes towards the relationship of man, animal and nature has played a part in the declining circus industry.

Natasha Hussain, CGTN.