Tormented bears are forced to dance and do tricks in disturbing footage from a vile North Korean circus.
Aussie Mark Woodman, 42, was taken to the circus in Pyongyang as part of a five-day tour of the country.
As he watched, bears were cruelly made to leapfrog their trainers, dance and twirl, and skip with a rope before bowing to the audience. Mr Woodman said that nobody dared to complain or leave.
Mark Woodman watched in horror as the bears jumped over a skipping rope and performed other tricks at a circus in Pyongyang, North Korea
'It was a series of classic circus acts performed by exceptionally talented and skilled performers – trapeze artists, juggling and balancing acts – interspersed with comic acts,' he said.
'The dancing bears were the only animal act. I was initially shocked and then fascinated, which made me film this act in particular. It was different to anything I'd seen.
'Although I'd heard that bears are still kept for performance in, perhaps, Central Asia and Russia, I never thought I would see it.
'All we could do was watch and absorb it. There's no complaining or leaving!'
Mr Woodman, from Perth, Western Australia, said the bears' behaviour was so unnatural that some spectators had thought they were actually people in costume.
'After the circus, while we waited for our bus, I was chatting with our western tour guide and another tour mate,' he recalled.
The bears were dressed up in silly clothes, and some of the audience initially even thought they were humans in a costume
They pranced about the stage along with their trainers to the laughter and
