Quirky China: smoking monkey outrage, school caught ranking kids based on parents’ wealth and status, AI beauty blogger hits five million fans in one week

But the zoo, located in Hengshui, Heibei province, northern China, on Thursday defended itself by saying the footage was made to educate the public not to smoke, The Beijing News reported.

In the video, a young monkey, wearing a pullover, was holding a burning cigarette in its mouth, with its eyes constantly blinking. After a zoo worker took away the cigarette, the monkey fell down on the ground.

The worker then put a thin quilt over its body saying “smoking harms the health”. At the end of the video, the worker presented a plate of seafood as a reward for the monkey’s performance, the report said.

A manager from the zoo told the newspaper that they only let the animal pretend to smoke. However, many internet users felt it was unacceptable.