A Chinese zoo has been accused of using old videos of a tiger cub to attract donations after she died, triggering public controversy.

The Puyang Central Zoo, a privately run zoo in Puyang city in central China’s Henan province, was reported to have been using old videos of a dead tiger cub to keep tricking “sponsorship fees” from live-stream viewers.

On February 10, local authorities confirmed the case and announced its decision to suspend the zoo’s operations and place its director under a rectification programme.

Previously, sharp-eyed online observers noticed the zoo’s tiger keeper, Zhang Lina, live-streamed its star Siberian tiger cub, Nuannuan, while using old footage of her or filming another tiger cub.

It turned out that Nuannuan had died from feline distemper, a highly contagious, life-threatening infectious disease and the zoo concealed the truth.

The zoo charges 20 yuan (US$3) for adults and 10 yuan for children. However, its major income is reportedly donations from viewers attracted to online live-streams of its animals.

The video clips on Zhang’s account, which has 2.7 million followers, show that Zhang asks for tips from viewers to “feed” the animals virtually.