A tiger has been shot dead after a man who climbed a fence into the tiger enclosure to avoid paying for a ticket was mauled to death at a zoo in eastern China.

The attack was captured on camera and shared on social media, with one video showing a tiger gnawing on the man's body as people screamed.

A local government statement said the victim, identified only by his surname of Zhang, climbed a fence with a friend instead of buying tickets, at a resort in Zhejiang province on Saturday.

The statement said Zhang's wife and two children, and his friend's wife, bought tickets to enter the zoo.

But Zhang allegedly passed through a wire netting and eventually climbed a wall to enter the tiger enclosure while his friend stayed back, the statement said.

A tiger attacked him inside the enclosure, as visitors to the park apparently watched from a distance.

Photos and video shared on social media appeared to show Zhang lying on the ground as tigers circled him.

One tiger was shot dead by local police, state television reported, and three others nearby were dispersed using firecrackers.

Zhang died later in hospital.

Incident draws ire of PETA, social media users

The incident drew criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which said it reflected the problems of keeping tigers and other large cats in captivity.

"Attacks by captive big cats on people — which occur with staggering regularity — illustrate the profound level of stress, anxiety and agitation these animals experience every day of their lives," said vice president of international campaigns, Jason Baker.

Many on Chinese social media protested the tiger's killing and condemned the man for entering the enclosure.

"This visitor's death by mauling really does not deserve any sympathy," one user on microblogging site Weibo wrote, according to the BBC.

"Tigers are the carnivorous kings of the jungle and hunting for food is their instinct, who can you blame if you jump in and get attacked? Rest in peace, tiger."

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