Park apologizes for pig bungee stunt

A theme park in Chongqing apologized on Sunday for taking a pig bungee jumping after netizens said the park was abusing animals.

In a video that went viral online, a heavy pig dressed in a cape was pushed off the bungee platform.

It couldn't move, and its four limbs were tied with cords. During every dive, it screamed harshly, as did the audience.

The pig was about 100 kilograms and was pushed from a height of 68 meters. The park did it to promote the opening day of its bungee program on Saturday, an unnamed staff member of the park told ThePaper.cn.

He also said they were just testing the facility, and that the pig's fall is a good omen for the price of pork. As statistics show pork prices rose about 42 percent last year, this indicated it would drop this year, he said.

He refused to accept the blame for animal abuse and said the pig looked "very calm" from beginning to the end.

He did apologize, however, for the park's ill-conceived promotion idea and added the pig has since been sent to the "safety" of the butcher.