The outrage that has been expressed online over several recent instances of animal cruelty suggested that China may have turned a corner in terms of the treatment of animals.

A man and his monkeys, courtesy of Baidu images

That process is turning out to be slower than some of us had hoped.

A man screamed at, swore at and whipped three monkeys while forcing them to perform on a street in Zhuhai’s Xiawan area Monday, Southern Metropolis Daily reports. Although one child cried upon seeing the monkeys’ distress, the performance was so popular that one middle-aged man tried to charge people money to keep watching.

The monkeys’ performance included being forced to dance and ride a small bicycle. The man who “disciplined” them during the performance, a Henan man in his 30s, said he has been training them for years while performing on streets around the country for money. He admitted that he has no special knowledge of how to raise monkeys.

Because he was mistreating animals and swearing in front of children, the police were eventually called, but upon arrival, the police said they didn’t want to cause an even bigger scene in front of children, so just told the Henan man to go away instead of arresting him.

According to China’s Wild Animal Protection Laws, monkeys are a 2nd grade protected species. If you see monkeys being mistreated you are encouraged to call 110. To own a monkey, you need a trainers’ license, according to the paper.

The case is being investigated.