Xinyang Xin County indoor zoo animal neglect incident

Person of Interest
Person of Interest
	; —
Name	Gao Wen Chao (高文超)
Age	—
Occupation	Indoor Zoo Owner
Known Identifiers	—
Status	—
Involvement	Was/Is the owner of the indoor zoo that showed signs of animal neglect; threatened to sue (likely people who undermined his business).
Punitive Measure	According to Baidu Map, the indoor zoo is no longer in operation.

Xin County indoor zoo animal neglect incident
Xin County indoor zoo animal neglect incident
	; The photo taken by Ms. Liu on January 31 shows feces piled up on the floor inside the store.
Key Details
Location	Xin County, Xinyang
Species Involved	Multiple Species, including alpaca, cats, ducks, parrots, pigs, rabbits
Type of Abuse	Neglect
Timeline
Date of Incident	January, 2025
Date Discovered	January 21, 2025
Date Closed	—
Status & Outcome
Case Status	—
Perpetrator	Gao Wen Chao
Aftermath	The indoor zoo is possibly no longer in operation, though some comments to the indoor zoo's Douyin account's videos showed conflicting information.

In late January and early February 2025, a controversy arose regarding the care of animals at 小象动悟公园, a petting zoo located in 居然之家城市广场, Xin County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, China.

Background

On January 18, 2024, Douyin account @醉美新县(id:TangTang861868) published a video about "新县居然之家小象动悟园", which would open on January 20, and featuring over 100 species of land, sea, and air. 小象动悟公园 was a petting zoo featuring animals such as alpaca, hamsters, rabbits, cats, parrots, and pigs. It was located at 居然之家城市广场 and is operated as a franchise under the company 郑州市宠社商贸有限公司, which reportedly manages over 200 such locations across China.

Allegations of Neglect

Screenshot from a video showing the body of a deceased pet pig.

On January 31, 2025, Ms. Liu (刘女士) posted online that she had discovered the 小象动悟公园 storefront tightly locked, with animal feces visible on the floor and a pet pig deceased inside. She suspected that staff had left for the Lunar New Year, leaving the animals unsupervised, and posted a video online condemning the store's actions.

Ms. Liu had previously visited on January 21 and reported seeing two cats inside a dark, locked store. She also reported that when she called a staff member, she was told, "I don't want to take care of (the cats) anymore." On January 31, she found additional animals, including rabbits, alpacas, and pigs, with one pig dead and other animals unattended. Ms. Liu stated that after the video was posted, relevant staff contacted her and said that law enforcement officers had visited the site, handled the dead animal, and had a conversation with the store owner, urging improvements in animal care and hygiene.