Footage that instantly went viral on Chinese social media shows theme park staffers dragging the bound animal to the top of a 70-meter-high (230-foot) attraction and then pushing the pig off the platform, making the unwitting mammal the first living being to ride the bungee jump.
While the obviously terrified animal swoops down, human laughter is reportedly audible in the background of the clip.
The stunt prompted a backlash among netizens who condemned the theme park owners.
“I don’t see anything funny in it [...] Why were there people laughing? Just because the animal can’t express fear doesn’t mean it is not afraid”, one person on Weibo said, cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Some netizens were outraged at the move, proposing instead to replace the pig with the theme park owner, according to the media report.
“Tie up its boss and throw him down, would be much more entertaining”, a Weibo user said, cited by SCMP.
“It’s our opening day today. We let the pig make the first jump because pork prices have been very high this year and recently they dropped a bit”, the owner quipped, cited by SCMP.
A spokesperson for the park justified the owner's action by claiming that the animal was destined to be butchered for a Lunar New Year banquet and that a shock before imminent slaughter is "normal" for pigs, suggesting that an animal's sufferings are "just a bit of entertainment” for others, according to the media report.