Animals in adverts and even in stores have become increasingly prevalent in China as outlets opt to use our furry friends as a sales gimmick.

However, one Chinese mall is determined to buck the trend – agreeing that animals should be in the wild, not in TV studios or shops.

Chengdu Paradise Walk has vowed never to use live animals as a marketing tool and instead partnered with Animals Asia to host an animal welfare exhibition last week targeted at the mall’s many young visitors.

Instead of animal gimmicks – shoppers were taught the natural history of China’s wild animals, inspiring many to pledge their support for Animals Asia’s No Voice No Choice campaign.

Animals Asia Welfare Director Dave Neale said:

“Chengdu Paradise Walk really deserve credit for taking such a clear and public stance on animal welfare. The last few years have seen animal performance become a disturbingly common and effective marketing gimmick for malls in China, so this step is really breaking from convention. Hopefully, as one of China’s leading retail centres, Paradise Walk’s strong stance will set a new, more modern trend of respect for animals for other malls to follow.”

China presently still has no specific animal protection law allowing many unscrupulous businesses to use animals as marketing props.

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“The present trend in the country is for malls to take advantage of people’s natural love of animals, while exploiting a general lack of laws and awareness about animal welfare. It’s a short-term and outdated approach that doesn’t take into account the new generation’s ever-increasing awareness.

“Thankfully, Paradise Walk has taken the opposite approach. They have seen the writing on the wall and are rightly positioning themselves as champions of animal welfare. They know that this is the direction the country is headed in and are acutely aware it’s better to set trends than to follow them.”

If you'd like to join our campaign to end animal performance please pledge never to watch animal performance: www.novoice.animalsasia.org

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