A zoo in northern China will ensure that live puppies are no longer fed to its pythons after a video of feeding time set off a backlash online.

The footage taken at the Riverside Zoo in Pingdingshan, Henan province, shows a puppy sitting in a room near a snake in a box. Photographs also show another python with several bulges wrapped around another puppy, apparently dead.

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A zoo employee confirmed that puppies were fed to snakes at the park but it was not official policy, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Friday.

The staff member said a contract worker at the park was responsible for feeding.

“We have spoken to the person and instructed him to stop such actions,” the employee was quoted as saying.

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