Wildlife parks across the country are under great pressure with officials and experts expressing fears that increasing competition and shrinking tourism will further overshadow the industry's future.
Ending a transient boom filled with prosperity after their establishment, wildlife parks in China -mostly privately run - are now struggling due to indiscriminate construction.
Market analysts say it is difficult for the parks to pay off their investments since most of them plunked down more than 100 million yuan (about US$12 million) when they were built.
"Over the decade, China has expanded its wildlife parks from nothing to 30 nationwide, a number exceeding market demand," said Professor Luo Youxian, president of the Tourism School with Chongqing Normal University, southwest China.
Chongqing Wildlife World, a major wild animal park, recently closed its office in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, because tourists from neighboring Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces were dispersed by the mushrooming of similar wildlife parks in the region.
This was in sharp contrast to three years ago when the park opened as southwest China's only wildlife park. Then, it had ticket revenues amounting to 60 million yuan (about US$7.2 million) in the first year, said Jiang Wenjun, the wildlife park's general manager.
Jiang said his park is now short of more than 3 million yuan (US$361,000 US dollars) every year after revenues dropped to about 25 million yuan (US$3 million) annually.
He said at least two thirds of domestic wildlife parks cannot continue operating.
Among China's current 30 wildlife parks, only 15 have permission and approval from the State Administration of Forestry, the country's top agency in charge of wildlife issues.
According to China's regulations, the establishment of wildlife parks raising rare animals under first-priority state protection should be approved by the administration.
However, zoos raising animals under second-priority state protection can be built with the province-level forestry departments' examination and approval.
"Such procedures of examination and approval have led to the expansion of China's wildlife parks," said Zhang Dehui, deputy director of wildlife management with the State Administration of Forestry.
Xu Yuming, deputy research fellow with Chongqing Municipal Academy of Social Sciences, said the lack of strict supervision was behind the overheated construction of wildlife parks across the country.
"Unlike zoos in cities, China's wildlife parks can't enjoy State financial support and have weaker ability to withstand market risks," said Zhang Dehui, the SAF's wildlife management official.
The parks' woes were exacerbated by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) last year and bird flu this spring, which forced tourists from visiting parks and the mass culling of wild birds inside.
Animal activists fear the shortage of income will probably threaten the survival of park animals.
Integration via market strengthening might be a way out for the parks, suggest experts, while the government should strictly supervise the distribution of parks.
(China Daily April 20, 2004)
