Witnesses have watched on in horror as disgruntled shareholders of a Chinese zoo fed a live donkey to tigers in an ongoing dispute with zoo management.

The Changzhou zoo, located in Yancheng city, north of Shanghai, said the shareholders tossed the donkey into the tiger enclosure "in a fit of rage" and later apologised to the public.

Video of the incident, which has gone viral on Chinese social media, shows the donkey being pushed down a slide from the back of a truck into water.

One tiger enters the water and mounts the donkey's back, repeatedly biting at its neck, while the other claws at the donkey from the water's edge.

In a statement released on its WeChat account, the zoo said the shareholders' actions stemmed from a legal case that led to a court freezing the zoo's assets two years ago.

Under the court order the zoo said it could not sell any of the animals, "investment finances shrank" and shareholders earned no income for two years.

The imposed restrictions also meant animals could not receive medical examinations and therefore could not be issued transport permits or quarantine certificates.

As a result, several rare animals, two giraffes and a chimpanzee died due to the lack of timely and effective medical treatment.

Shareholders had become increasingly dissatisfied with the situation and began to suspect the zoo and the court were trying to "deceive the small shareholders of the investment capital", the zoo said.

Chinese newspaper Xiandai Kuaibao reported that after the donkey was pushed in, zoo staff managed to stop a sheep from also being pushed into the water.

The zoo said it had "launched emergency procedures" to control the situation and was meeting with shareholders, urging them to reach a consensus to prevent any further aggressive behaviour.