Prince Visit To China Entertained By Elephants

Prince William's trip to China was intriguing he visited an animal sanctuary while elephants performed for tourists nearby.

The Prince was being photographed with an elephant, other elephant were waiting in enclosures less than a mile away with their legs shackled.

The Prince is in Yunnan Province on the last leg of his tour of China. His visit to this far southwestern province was supposed to help highlight a cause close to him: the fight to conserve and save endangered species and highlight the trade in endangered wildlife.

Sky News spent an hour at the show in which we watched tourists sitting on Elephants trunks and riding on them. The animals, some wearing giant spectacles, sat down and balanced on tiny stools. Others kicked around footballs.

The show lasts an hour, happens twice a day and is watched by hundreds of Chinese tourists.

Prince William, who is the patron of the Tusk Trust, wanted to use his last day here to learn more about China's role in fighting the illegal trade in wildlife.

While there is no suggestion that the elephant William met or those performing are affected by the illegal trade, they are not living in the wild and are trained to entertain.