Wildlife parks across China are now under great pressure as officials and experts fear increasing competition and shrinking tourists will further overshadow the industry's future.

Ending their transient boom and 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 China's wildlife parks to repay their investment as most of them invested over 100 million yuan (US$12 million) when they were built.

"Over the past 10 years, China has expanded its wildlife parks from zero to currently 30 nationwide, a number exceeding market demands," said Professor Luo Youxian, president of the Tourism School with Chongqing Normal University, southwest China.

Chongqing Wildlife World, a major wild animal park in Chongqing Municipality, had to recently close its office in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, because tourists from neighboring Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces were further dispersed by the mushrooming of similar wildlife parks in the region.

This was in sharp contrast to 2001 when the park opened as southwest China's only wildlife park with a ticket revenue 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) every year after revenue dropped to about 25 million yuan (US$3 million).

He said at least two thirds of domestic wildlife parks couldn’t continue operation.

Among China's current 30 wildlife parks, only 15 had 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 first be approved by the State Administration of Forestry (SAF).

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 examination and supervision were behind the overheated construction of wildlife parks across the country.

"Unlike zoos in cities, China's wildlife parks can't enjoy state financial support thus have weaker abilities 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 last year and bird flu this spring, which forced tourists from those parks and the mass culling of wild birds inside.

Animal activists fear the shortage of income will probably threaten the survival of park animals.

To survive fierce competition, integration via market strengthening might be a way out for wildlife parks, suggest experts, while the government should strictly supervise the distribution of parks and protect the animals' living standards.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2004)