Footage covertly filmed by the Sun during a one-week stay in North Korea shows bears and monkeys being forced to perform tricks in gaudy costumes at a circus for wealthy citizens.
According to the Sun, the bears were caught in the forests of North Korea and perform three times a day while wearing tight muzzles.
In the video, the bears and monkeys are made to roller skate, jump rope and play basketball -- behavior PETA spokesperson Carney Anne Chester says could only be learned through torture.
"The only way to get wild animals ... whether they're bears, primates, elephants, tigers, to learn ridiculous tricks is through the constant threat of physical punishment," Chester told The Huffington Post in a phone interview. "They're deprived of everything that's natural to them."
Chester went on to say that even after their years of performances are through, animals such as the ones in these videos will continue to exhibit unnatural behavior due to psychological trauma.
While the U.S. has regulations for conditioning animals for performances, undercover video taken the Humane Society of the United States last month revealed rampant disregard for those rules in the training of the Tennessee Walking Horses.
In the video obtained by ABC News, stable hands can be seen allegedly applying corrosive chemicals to the horses' ankles in order to encourages the animals to lift their legs high in a prance.
WARNING: The following videos contain disturbing content.
Videos courtesy of the Sun: