A theme park in China faced a major backlash after forcing a pig to do a bungee jump as a publicity stunt.
A video from the Meixin Red Wine Town theme park in Chongqing, in southwest China, depicts a few people tying a pig to a pole and taking it up to the top of a platform on a 68-meter-high (223 feet) tower. The men then fitted the animal with bungee ropes. They put a cape on it and pushed t over the edge of the platform.
The poor animal was squealing in distress, while crowds laughed and screamed. The pig was left dangling before being brought back up by the bungee operators.
According to BBC News, the stunt took place on January 18, 2020, and was met with widespread and heavy criticism when the video appeared on Chinese social media website Weibo, where people called i "disgusting" and "torture". As per local reports, the animal was sent to a slaughterhouse after the incident.
A public relations representative of the park claimed that the stunt was "just a bit of entertainment," adding that it was "normal" for pigs to experience shock on their way to being slaughtered, according to the South China Morning Post.
Animal rights groups have now called for animal cruelty laws – that China currently doesn't have – following the stunt. The wide condemnation from the public also indicated the increasing attitude change towards animal rights issues.
Since then, the theme park has put out a statement apologizing for the incident.
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