The Lunar New Year is to be celebrated on 8 February in China and across much of Asia. Each year is characterised by one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and this time it's the year of the monkey. This is great news for zoos and circuses that feature trained monkeys performing stunts to entertain audiences. Performances by exotic animals were banned by the Chinese government in 2012 but the ruling had little effect. Performing-monkey schools are training more animals than ever in the run-up to the Chinese New Year.
Shows involving monkeys – and even large apes such as chimpanzees and orangutans – are still popular in many Asian countries, such as China, South Korea and Thailand. Animal-rights campaigners are against the shows, arguing trainers get animals to perform tricks not with rewards but with cruel punishment. Young monkeys are usually taken away from their mothers and often subjected to physical and psychological harm.
In this gallery, we look at rehearsals for new year performing-monkey shows in several Chinese cities and South Korea.
A monkey looks up at a trainer backstage before a performance at a monkey training school at a zoo in Dongying, eastern China's Shandong provinceWang Zhao/AFPA monkey shouts at a trainer during a sessionWang Zhao/AFPA monkey rehearses for a New Year performanceWang Zhao/AFPA monkey performs at a training schoolWang Zhao/AFPA monkey peers out from its cage at the training school at a zoo in Dongying, eastern China's Shandong provinceWang Zhao/AFPTrainers put nappies on monkeys before taking them for a walk at a zoo in DongyingWang Zhao/AFPMonkeys wearing nappies are taken for a walk by their trainersWang Zhao/AFPA monkey receives training before a performanceWang Zhao/AFPA monkey waits to put on a costume before a performanceWang Zhao/AFPA monkey touches a trainer's finger at a monkey training schoolWang Zhao/AFPMonkeys perform at a theme park in Hangzhou, Zhejiang ProvinceChinaFotoPress via Getty ImagesMonkeys stand on chairs during a performance ahead of the Chinese New Year of the MonkeyReutersMonkeys are tied up during a performance ahead of the Chinese New Year of the MonkeyWang Zhao/AFPA man touches the head of a monkey during a performance ahead of the Chinese New Year of the Monkey in Hangzhou, Zhejiang provinceReutersA monkey and a trainer perform onstage at a monkey training school at a zoo in DongyingWang Zhao/AFPA trained monkey performns on an inflatable ball during a performance at Monkey School in Goyang, South KoreaKim Hong-ji/ReutersA trained monkey rides a toy motorcycle past monkeys wearing Korean traditional costumes in GoyangKim Hong-ji/ReutersA money is tied up while it waits to be photographed with children in GoyangKim Hong-ji/ReutersChildren pose for photographs with a trained monkey after a performance in Goyang, South KoreaKim Hong-ji/Reuters
