World's top zoo body accused of neglecting animal rights after acts of cruelty caught on camera
Activists call for crackdown on animal cruelty, claiming the association that monitors welfare of animals has overlooked ethical breaches
Dozens of examples of harrowing cruelty towards animals in zoos have been overlooked by the world's top zoo organisation, animal welfare groups have alleged.
Zoos belonging to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza) have been filmed over the past five years making animals perform dangerous tricks, confining them to inadequate premises and beating them, contrary to Waza's code of ethics, which demands the "highest standard of animal welfare".
In November, an animal keeper at Mysore Zoo in India was filmed beating an elephant, and Taman Safari in Indonesia runs a travelling dolphin circus in which dolphins are forced to jump through flaming hoops.
Zoo Negara in Malaysia has been condemned by a local MP for the terrible condition of its animals, and Dehiwala Zoo in Sri Lanka has come under fire after the deaths of a hippo, a lion and all the zoo's penguins.
A manacled performing elephant has been filmed at Dusit Zoo in Bangkok, and Almaty zoo in Kazakhstan and the National Taiwan Aquarium have been accused of housing bears and beluga whales, respectively, in sub-standard enclosures.
In 2009, a South Korean TV show filmed a small, terrified bear being placed inside a tiger enclosure at Everland Park.