‘Keep the noise down, the python’s sleeping!': pensioners censured for dancing to loud music at Shanghai Zoo
Police called after senior citizens ignored pleas to stop disturbing the animals
Police had to be called to Shanghai Zoo after a group of senior citizens refused to turn down their music while dancing next to animal cages early in the morning.
The dancers, mostly in their fifties and sixties, were dancing in an indoor area which houses a python, tortoise and other amphibians and reptiles, the Shanghai Daily reported.
Zoo staff said the noise was disturbing the animals and could harm their reproductive cycle.
They repeatedly asked the dancers to tone down their music on Monday, but the requests fell on deaf ears.
“We asked them to dance 10 metres away from the cages, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on them,” a zoo official was quoted as saying.
One of the dancers told the newspaper: "The animals enjoy the music and watch us dance."
Some dancers even smashed signs as the dispute heated up, the report said.