An appalling video has revealed Chinese visitors using fishing poles to feed captive tigers in a so-called 'interactive programme' offered by a wildlife zoo.

Yunnan Safari Park in south-eastern China has come under fire after the video sparked outrage on Chinese social media.

The programme was branded by the wildlife park as educational and a way to keep the animals active.

The zoo said yesterday that it had cancelled the activity permanently. They told the press that the tigers had never attacked anyone since the park opened over 10 years ago.

The programme is believed to have existed for at least seven years after a web user slammed the activity 'cruel' in a post from 2013 on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo

A viral video from Monday shows a group of tourists - some are children – leaning against a balcony while swinging their fishing poles attached with raw meat to attract the tigers on the ground. It remains unknown when the video was filmed.

The activity named as 'fishing tigers', was marketed by the safari park as an 'interactive programme to educate visitors about nature and wildlife,' Chinese media report.

The programme, which charged 30 yuan (£3.43) each time, is believed to have existed for at least seven years after a web user slammed the activity 'cruel' in a post from 2013 on Chinese Twitter-like Weibo.

'[The activity allowed] tourists to poke fun at all the animals,' the commenter wrote. 'Wild animals shouldn't be used as a tool for the park to make a profit!

'Where are your morals to make this kind of money? How can you protect them when you can't give them the least of respect?'

The official account of the zoo explained to the Weibo user that the programme was designed to help the caged tigers stay active.

'Our zookeepers also feed animals like this. It helps us to test the tigers' ability to hunt for food,' the wildlife park responded.

Viral video emerged on Monday shows a group of tourists - some are children – leaning against a balcony while swinging their fishing poles attached with raw meat to attract the tigers on the ground. It remains unknown when the video was filmed

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The shocking footage has sparked uproar on Chinese social media, prompting the zoo to axe the programme.

One comment read: 'What is your problem? Don't animals deserve respect?'

'Even if tigers can't jump that high [to attack the tourists], people might still fall,' another one said.

The Yunnan Safari Park insisted that no visitors had ever been harmed by the tigers since the zoo opened more than ten years ago.

'The balcony is about three metres (ten feet) high and the barrier is about one metre (three feet) high,' a staff member told the Beijing News. 'People can't fall unless they intentionally climb over and jump off.

'We have cancelled the activity,' the park added. 'We will focus on creating better living conditions for the animals and more natural environment.'

It comes as another video has shown 1,213 pieces of alligator skin spread out on a basketball court after they were seized by police from smugglers in China.

Two Chinese citizens have been detained on Monday after local police found the haul hidden inside a lorry together with watermelons.

Chinese lawmakers passed new legislation in February to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals amid the coronavirus epidemic.