At private circuses in China, visitors can see monkeys stilt-walking, bears perching on balance bars, and lions, dogs, tigers, and other animals performing various unnatural tricks.

What the audience doesn’t see is the animal abuse and neglect behind the scenes. In footage openly recorded in August 2015 by investigators for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), animals in circuses in the city of Suzhou, China, are shown being struck by circus trainers, kept in unsanitary conditions, and denied adequate space.

According to a report by PETA detailing the findings, days-old tiger cubs are separated from their mothers, monkeys demonstrate self-destructive behaviors such as chewing on their arms, and baby bears are chained by their necks to a wall,