Circus performers refuse to leave the stage as zoo tries to ban live animal performances
Management threatens legal action after shows that prompted criticism from animal rights activists continue
One of the largest zoos in China has been caught up in a row with a circus over the future of its animal shows.
The management of Guangzhou Zoo, which first opened to the public in the capital city of Guangdong province in 1928, decided to stop all animal performances in the zoo starting from this month.
But Tamed Beast Circus declined, saying it had nowhere else to go, according to a report in The Beijing News.
The circus has been staging six performances a day at the zoo for the past 24 years. Animals performing in the shows, have attracted more than 10 million spectators over the past two decades, include elephants, gorillas, Siberian tigers, black bears and parrots.
The lucrative business was supposed to be shut down permanently as the zoo informed the circus in July that it would not extend its contract when it expired the following month.