ZOO STAFF USED EXCESSIVE FORCE AGAINST SHOW DOG AFTER IT MADE GIRL CRY?

Dear Editors,

I would like to highlight an incident that happened today, 17th December 2015 at the Singapore zoo, during the Animal Friends Show, at around 4.45pm.

After the show, there was a time for the visitors to pet the dogs, 2 Golden Retriever and 1 Japanese Spitz with three show personnel. Golden A was with an Indian man, Golden B was with a Chinese man and Japanese Spitz was with a Chinese girl.

I was petting Golden A at the left side with my girlfriend when I heard a girl crying at the other side of the stage. The Indian man immediately went over and grab hold of Golden B. Apparently, Golden B was biting on to the little girl hat and did not want to let go.

The next moment, I saw the Indian man grabbing the mouth and the flesh was pressing against the teeth so that the dog will let go of the hat. After Golden B let go of the hat, the Indian man continued to press into its mouth and Golden B started whining very loudly in pain. The Indian man still did not let go, instead, pressed even harder that Golden B whined even louder and could see that he was shaking in pain and his tail was tucked underneath.

If he can do this on stage with visitors around, I wonder what happens backstage when the animals misbehave? Are they being beaten or starved? I hope something will be done about this!

Animal Lover
A.S.S. Contributor