The zoo was unavailable for comment, but the Shenyang-based Times Business reported Tuesday that employees of the zoo, who went on strike last week demanding the zoo pay salaries that were 18 months in arrears, have returned to work after their salaries were paid.

The number of animals in the zoo has dropped by half in a decade, from 1,020 animals of 61 species in 2000 to 518 of 49 species in 2010 as a result of financial difficulties, according to Xinhua.

Siberian tigers are one of the rarest species in the world. Experts estimate there are more than 800 Siberian tigers in China, with only about 20 in the wild.

Privately owned zoos' woe

Statistics showed that there are more than 30 wildlife zoos in China, three times of that in America and six times that in Japan. Local governments set up zoos by attracting individual investment.

After the first privately owned zoo was set up in Shenzhen in 1993, more began springing up. But problems, especially financial difficulties, ensued for some.

According to Zhou Bin, an official with the Dalian Forest Zoo, some 90 percent of zoos across China are poorly managed.

In an unscrupulous bid to increase revenue, some zoos mix different animals together to entertain visitors, who watch them kill each other. Some will train animals to practice stunts; and some in financial difficulties leave animals to starve.

Media reports in 2005 exposed a private zoo in Hubei, which starved eight out of 11 lions to death after being mired in financial difficulties. Daily feed for all animals at the zoo cost a total 200 yuan, the same cost for feeding a lion per day.

In 2003, a wildlife park in Xiamen suffered financial difficulties as a result of a sharp decrease in the number of tourists after the outbreak of SARS. A mother lion reportedly ate her baby.

According to Zhang Chenglin, a Beijing zoo official, privately owned zoos simply do not work.

"Generally, a zoo will pay income to hundreds of people and bear the cost of even more animals," Zhang explained. "Private zoos will only give priority to making money, but state-owned zoos focus more on public service."

The Xinmin Evening News commented that zoo owners neglect animal protection and only pursue business profits. Once there are no profits, they give up and leave the animals to die.

But Zhang Xiwu, the director, does not believe that converting private zoos into state-owned operations is the solution.

Citing Guangdong Fanyu Zoo, a private facility, which operates capably, Zhang said, "Many private zoos are operating quite well. The key is how the zoo managers run the zoo and maintain a balance between making profits and protecting animals."

Hua Ning, the project manager of the China Office of US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said that the fundamental problem does not lie in lack of funding but in the absence of systematic regulations and an assessment system which sets thresholds for operating a zoo.

"There should be strict rule which sets strict standards for operating a zoo. Those that fail to meet the standards should never be allowed to enter the industry," she said.

Source: Global Times