China's zoo animals are experiencing a meager diet at the moment due to the sharp decline in the number of zoo visitors since the outbreak of SARS.

Statistics show that the number of zoo visitors in Beijing and Tianjin in north China fell 97 percent for the period from April to mid-May.

The public remains reticent about visiting zoos due to SARS-related fears.

Zoo managers in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province are complaining that their zoos have not seen a substantial influx of visitors despite the fact that the epidemic has been effectively brought under control.

According to the booking office of the Harbin Zoo, ticket sales during the May Day holidays fell 90 percent compared with the same period last year, and sales on Children's Day fell some 50 percent.

Liu Jingchen, an official with the zoo, said that over 2,000 animals in his zoo have very meager diets. Prior to the SARS outbreak, a tiger or a lion in the zoo enjoyed 14 kilograms of beef per day, but at present, Liu said, the giant felines are simply given enough to fill their stomachs.

The zoo in Daqing, the "Oil City" of Heilongjiang, was forced to sell six monkeys to buy food for the tigers in the zoo. It also laid off 23 of its 32 workers.

With respect to cleanliness, Wu Zhaozheng, the manager of the Beijing Zoo, said that regular disinfection is carried out at the zoo each spring and autumn to prevent animal epidemics, and disinfection work has been intensified this year due to the outbreak of SARS.

Wu assured that it is safe to visit the zoo.

According to a survey by the national association of zoos, there have been no reports of animal SARS cases in the zoos in the 23 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions struck by SARS.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2003)