By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent
Prince William's trip to China has ended with embarrassment after he visited an animal sanctuary where elephants are forced to perform for tourists nearby.
At the same moment that the Prince was being photographed with an elephant, others 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.
Sky News asked the Prince if he was aware the elephant entertainment was taking place down the road. He turned around but did not respond.
Some 250 elephants live in Wild Elephant Valley near a town called Xishuangbanna. They represent the only 'wild' Asian elephants in China. However from what Sky News witnessed, many of them cannot be classed as living in the wild.
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.
Speaking to journalists at the sanctuary about the global illegal wildlife trade, the Duke said: "It is appalling that elephants and many others may be extinct in the wild in our lifetimes, and we seem to be hurtling towards the tragic outcome.
"The extinction of animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins would be an immeasurable loss to the whole of humanity."
Conservation groups agree that China is the main protagonist in the trade, with tonnes of ivory smuggled into the country from Africa.
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.
Conservationists Sky News spoke to expressed surprise that palace officials would allow William to be seen to endorse a centre at which elephants perform.
Fleur Dawes from Animal Defenders International said: "'Using animals for entertainment in any sphere is completely wrong and fosters disrespect for the animals.
"What we want is to protect these animals in their wild and natural environment. Reducing them to caricatures simply undermines that message.
"So we would urge Prince William and all of the royal family to really bear that in mind. You simply cannot recreate the kind of natural environment in a wild life park where animals are forced to perform."
A three-year study by the World Animal Protection in 2014 into the welfare of captive elephants in Asia concluded that entertainment venues where elephants are forced into unnatural performances often causes them pain and suffering.
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