A photo of a monkey and a cat in the Kunming zoo. Photo: VCG

A zoo in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, removed two cats from its monkey mountain enclosure after videos depicting the monkeys torturing the cats, which the zoo had placed in the enclosure for rodent control, sparked public outrage and debate about animal protection and zoo management.

According to a statement released by the Kunming Zoo on Sunday, the two cats were safely removed from the monkey mountain enclosure at around 9:40 pm on Saturday. A thorough physical examination by the animal hospital of Yunnan Agricultural University on the cats showed that they have good physical conditions with no external injuries and with normal action capacity. The two cats will be properly rehomed by the China Small Animal Protection Association. 

Video footages circulating online over the past few days show monkeys dragging the cats around and plucking their whiskers, sparking public outrage toward the cohabitation practice adopted by the zoo as well as concerns over management at the zoo in terms of the perspective of animal protection.

The zoo released two notices on January 19 and 26 in response to public concerns, which said a previous rat infestation had caused the number of rats amounting to 300 to 500 due to food storage issues and the suitable living condition of caves for rodents at the monkey enclosure. 

Following the advice of local experts and residents, the zoo in 2013 placed eight cats into the enclosure and they further produced four more felines, which effectively controlled the rat infestation. In order to assure the persistent control effect over the rat infestation, the zoo moved out 10 cats and left two in the monkey enclosure. 

According to the zoo, the monkeys and cats have been getting along well over the decade with the cats remaining in good physical condition. 

The zoo also attributed the video footage to a display of normal animal frolicking. Some monkeys even groom the cats and pick lice for the cats, the zoo said in a statement. 

However, some netizens did not buy the explanation and exposed that two cats put into the monkey enclosure were tortured by the monkeys. 
Chuncheng Evening News, a newspaper in Yunnan Province, also reported in 2017 that the initial introduction of two stray cats to the monkey mountain resulted in the unfortunate death of the felines. 

Online footage shows that a cat lover even attempted to climb into the monkey mountain to save the cats. 

Considering that the monkeys kept at the zoo are wild animals before they were placed in captivity, relevant assessments should be conducted before introducing cats, especially those were once kept as pets, into the monkey enclosure, Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection organization, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that such cohabitation practices can leave some negative impact on animals and may not be healthy for the animals over the long term. 

Despite cats have been domesticated, they still keep their nocturnal habit while the monkeys on the contrary have activities during daytime, which can disturb cats' sleep and rest, Sun said.

Others criticized that the zoo, which also bears the responsibility of animal protection, should not sacrifice the cats to the protection of monkeys. 

In light of the incident, Kunming Zoo expressed its appreciation over the public's concerns over the animals' living conditions and support to the zoo in a statement on Sunday and its commitment to reflecting on its shortcomings and promptly considering public opinions and suggestions to provide animals with a natural, safe and healthy living environment.