China is a country with a shameful animal rights record. China's zoos have been described as insane asylums for animals and a national disgrace, where live domestic pets are fed to lions and tigers for the entertainment of visitors. Young bears are captured in the wild, separated from their mothers and taught by a trainer to become dancing bears in conditions of unimaginable cruelty. The young animals are forced onto sheets of glowing hot metal and, in order to escape the pain, the bears alternately lift up one paw and then another while a musical tune plays along. The process is repeated again and again until the animals automatically begin to raise their paws - to dance - in fear of the pain, even without the hot metal sheets. The circus demeans animals, robbing them of their natural dignity.