Chinese zoo pleads for food donations amid country’s economic strife

A wildlife conservation group in China has urged volunteers to donate food to animals in a government-run zoo due to the lack of funds. Liberal Party Defence and National Security Policy Chair Lincoln Parker said the zoo appeal is part of a larger financial problem Chinese cities and towns are facing as debt mounts. “The massive hidden debt that the local councils and local governments have, it’s called local government financing vehicles and they are in debt to eleven trillion dollars,” he told Sky News host Erin Molan. “So, 50 per cent of all the income generated is going just to pay their interest on their debt, so not even to pay down their debt just to pay the interest. “It means they’ve got no money and so this story was about them not being able to pay their staff at the zoo for the last six months and nor provide any food for the animals.