China dog show axed after online flak, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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China dog show axed after online flak

This article is more than 12 months old

A dog circus show scheduled to run in February next year at Resorts World Sentosa was cancelled within a day of tickets going on sale, after it received flak online for being cruel and unethical.

Ticketing service operator Sistic had first posted about the event - Chinese New Year Dog Circus - on its Facebook page on Friday morning.

The show featuring poodles performing stunts was to be held during the upcoming Chinese New Year, which will welcome the Year of the Dog on Feb 16.

According to the synopsis on the event webpage, which has since been taken down, the show was marketed as "the first and only dog circus from China".

Tickets were priced from $68 to $108, with three shows each scheduled for Feb 16 and 17.

Hours after Sistic's post, an online petition calling for a ban on the show had surfaced, led by Ms Summer Ong.

The petition was addressed to Resorts World Sentosa, Sistic and events organiser HE Productions.

It received 7,236 signatures in a day, and was closed on Saturday afternoon.

Ms Ong, in the petition, had called the use of animals for entertainment, especially in a circus, as a "severely archaic, cruel and unethical practice".

Learning that the act was coming to Singapore was "outrageously appalling and extremely disappointing", she added. - NG HUIWEN

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