VIDEO: Helpless Donkey Fed to Starving Tigers by Chinese Zoo Staff

I think we can all agree that China’s culture is… unique and that their traditions are a little bit odd.

This disturbing footage shows a helpless donkey being fed to hungry tigers by the staff of a Chinese zoo.

Read the full story below, provided by Viral 4 Real.

Visitors watch in terror as the two tigers rip the helpless donkey apart.

While tigers look adorable to some, feeding them can be quite a challenge. These animals are used to ‘hunting’ in the wild, and many zoo keepers want to maintain that kind of ‘wild side’. However, this zoo in China has left many netizens shocked at how tigers were fed.

Changzhou zoo in eastern China fed their tigers with a live donkey, while many zoo visitors watched and filmed. The shocking footage showed a helpless donkey being pushed by zoo staff into a moat where tigers were waiting.

The terrified animal can be seen clinging on for dear life as workers in raincoats push it down a ramp and off a steep ledge into a tiger compound. Two tigers lead the way as they trap the donkey and slowly bite it from behind and paw it from the front. Eventually, it is forced into the water by the duo and repeatedly bitten on its head while splashing around in desperation.

Many netizens were shocked, with some netizens pointing out the cruelty of the zookeepers in feeding a live, helpless animal to hungry predators without a chance to fight for its life. The lifeless donkey can be seen being hauled onto land for consumption soon after.

The tigers killed the donkey in just half an hour.

According to Wikipedia, donkeys have a notorious reputation for stubbornness, but this has been attributed to a much stronger sense of self-preservation than exhibited by horses.

Likely based on a stronger prey instinct and a weaker connection with man, it is considerably more difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason. Once a person has earned their confidence they can be willing and companionable partners and very dependable in work.

Although formal studies of their behaviour and cognition are rather limited, donkeys appear to be quite intelligent, cautious, friendly, playful, and eager to learn.

In some areas domestic donkeys have returned to the wild and established feral populations such as those of the Burro of North America and the Asinara donkey of Sardinia, Italy, both of which have protected status. Feral donkeys can also cause problems, notably in environments that have evolved free of any form of equid, such as Hawaii.

In Australia, where there may be 5 million feral donkeys, they are regarded as an invasive pest and have a serious impact on the environment. They may compete with livestock and native animals for resources, spread weeds and diseases, foul or damage watering holes and cause erosion.

A male donkey can be crossed with a female horse to produce a mule. A male horse can be crossed with a female donkey to produce a hinny.