A safari park is usually a place where visitors go to watch animals roam around in vast open spaces under the knowledge that they are treated well.
But this sanctuary in Harbin, China has been branded a large-scale breeding farm where the Siberian Tigers are kept in unnatural conditions and are made to perform for visitors.
Visitors to the park are able to pay extra money to throw live animals into the enclosure and watch the tigers ‘hunt’.
A trainer cracks a whip next to Siberian tigers as they perform at a private circus on rented space at the Siberian Tiger Park
A Chinese tourist wears protective gloves as she holds a baby Siberian tiger and poses for photographs
A Chinese tourist wears protective gloves as she holds a baby Siberian tiger as they ride in a bus
Fun at the park: Chinese tourists pose for pictures in a monument of a tiger at the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park
The Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, China’s Heilongjiang province is located some 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the border with Russia.
It is considered the world’s largest sanctuary for breeding of the Siberian or Amur tiger which the World Wildlife Federation has listed as endangered.
The breeding centre opened in 1986 with the plan to release the tigers back into the wild however a government plan suggests that it may be a decade before the first animal is released.
At the park, visitors can get up close to the animals by taking a ride in a tour bus with metal guards
A Chinese trainer swings a stick next to Siberian tigers as they perform at a private circus at the park
A Chinese tourist feeds Siberian tigers from a tourist bus. The park is considered the world’s largest center for breeding of the Siberian or Amur tiger
Getting up close: A Chinese tourist dangles a piece of raw meat in front of a Siberian tiger as they ride in a bus
The center opened in 1986 and claims an 80-percent survival rate among the 100 or so cubs born in captivity every year
Visitors to the park are able to see the animals up close by taking a bus through the enclosures. For those wishing to see the animals in a more lively state, customers can pay money for live animals to be fed to the tigers. The price rises to 2,800 (£325) yuan for a live cow.
New pictures show the tigers forced to take part in a live circus show on site. While other images show visitors holding new tiger cubs. The animals are trained to take part in these activities.
PETA Director Elisa Allen told MailOnline: ‘Tigers don’t perform because they want to – they do it because they’ve learned that if they don’t, they’ll be whipped, beaten, or otherwise tormented.
‘And while their spirits may be broken, these powerful animals never lose their desire to be free. People can help protect tigers by never frequenting these hellholes and by donating to habitat-protection programmes instead.’
Brutal: A Chinese worker attaches a live chicken to a cable after tourists paid for it to be fed to Siberian tigers
A Chinese tourist wears protective gloves as she holds a baby Siberian tiger as they pose for pictures
Waiting to be fed: Siberian Tiger waits to be fed by Chinese tourists in a bus at the park some 300 miles from Russian border
Rushing for the food: Siberian tigers leap to grab live chickens hanging from a cable after tourists paid to feed them
Siberian tigers, also called as Amur Tigers, are recorded as the world’s largest cats, stated the National Geographic.
Poaching and habitat loss due to urban development are among the causes leading to the extinct of the animals.
They are also listed as an endangered species – between critically endangered and vulnerable – on the red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
World Wildlife Fund had a record of 3,890 Siberian tigers remaining in the wild as of 2017.
A Chinese trainer cracks a whip next to Siberian tigers as they perform at a private circus on rented space at the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park
Feeding time at the zoo: Siberian Tigers pace as they wait to be fed by tourists on a bus
Siberian tigers are seen lounging waiting to be fed outside a tourist bus at the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park