A shopping centre has sparked safety concerns after allowing a circus show involving bears and lions in its performances right in the hall.
Phone footage filmed by an unnamed visitor shows crowds of shoppers separated by a simple metal fence from the wild beasts at a mall in Wenzhou, a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province.
The clip – shared on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – shows an animal trainer leading a sun bear on a leash as it walks on its hind legs.
They slowly move in circles inside the cage for the whole crowd to see with the trainer coaxing the wild animal by giving it treats.
Then, the circus brings out a fully-grown lion that is seen doing tricks as the trainer pokes it with a large stick to keep it moving.
Meanwhile, spectators standing on guardrails on each floor are just feet away from the ferocious beasts inside an open cage that is propped against the floor rather than being secured into place.
Local officials immediately shut down the circus after footage of the wild animals acts emerged on social media citing safety concerns.
Officials said the performers had been working without getting approval while risking the lives of many, as the fence itself was not high enough to contain the beasts that could easily break free.
