(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-27 10:04

"Please save the poor tiger,"a reader pleaded to local media in Chongqing Municipality on Saturday after seeing a tiger restrained with rope so that tourists could snap photos.

Li, the owner of the tiger, said he is the boss of an animal performance troup from East Anhui Province and that the tiger was brought to the city on a legal license. "Those who want to take photos with the tiger should pay five yuan (68 US cents) each and we tied the tiger for safety,"Li said.

Experts from a local animal protection association said no animal welfare laws had been broken, but residents and tourists said that the tiger is being abused.

(Chongqing Evening News)