China is expected to have its first special regulation governing the establishment and operation of various kinds of wild animal parks and similar facilities this year, according to a senior wildlife protection official.

Chen Runsheng, who is the head of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, said the regulation aims to establish a government-supervised mechanism of trade self-discipline for those "parks" or facilities which earn profit from entertaining tourists with wild animals in captivity.

According to Chen, these facilities have contributed to the protection of wild animals to a certain degree by providing accommodation for animals not strong enough to survive in the wild and by producing valuable experiences regarding wild animals' artificial propagation.

Some wild animal parks have become tourist hotspots, such as the one in Dalian, a harbor city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, while others have become important animal research bases. A park in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, is an example of the second category with its outstanding achievements in lion breeding.

"But some projects (of wild animal parks) are badly planned, and their poor management leaves the animals the ultimate victims," said Chen.

As more Chinese choose to enjoy nature nowadays, building wild animal parks or just having a bunch of wild animals on show has become a lucrative business.

While most of the parks to emerge in recent years have been well managed, a number of poorly operated parks have closed their doors after filing for bankruptcy.

"In these bankruptcy cases, the animals are the most difficult to dispose of, because while the real estate properties and articles can be seized to pay back the debt, few would like to take the wild animals," said Chen.

"Besides, the bad management of some of those parks often results in their wild animals being left without food and proper medical care."

Therefore, the new regulation is expected to spell out the qualifications required by those interested in operating such a business, also outlining operation codes.

"The wild animals are cherished creatures and the regulation will highlight this point," said Chen.

The regulation will also help cope with a new trend, with more non-profit state-run city zoos in the country being purchased by private funds, Chen said.

Such purchases have already taken place in major cities including Shenyang and Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province and Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

"This (running zoos) is becoming a more privatized business and therefore a new game. It is in need of rules for future healthy development," Chen said.

(China Daily March 3, 2003)