China is to launch a campaign to stop maltreatment of animals being held for public display, according to a government statement released Thursday.

Some companies staging animal shows have been paying excessive attention to profit-making, resulting in maltreatment and early death of animals, said a statement of the State Forestry Administration (SFA).

The statement comes one week after a 21 year-old female panda Quan Quan was poisoned to death last Thursday in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province.

"Shows that bring spectators zero-distance to animals and performances that maltreat animals should be immediately stopped," said the statement.

The SFA also imposed a moratorium from July 30 to December 31 on issuing licenses to applicants for domesticating or breeding wild animals for the purpose of conducting shows.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2010)