Wandering around the halls of Interzoo one might notice a long isle full of exhibits or stands. After closer examination however the stands are covered with a cloth or tarp. The main hall is now closed, but why would these exhibits be “hidden” from the world to see? Interestingly, this phenomenon doesn’t just happen at the world’s largest pet show; in fact it has happened at other trade popular trade shows including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and others. The cloth or tarp is hiding the booth but more importantly what is in the booth. These are Chinese booths and they are hiding their products from outsiders.

Why would you hide your products—would you not be proud of them? In most cases yes, but suppose that these products are copies of copyrighted products located in developed countries and you didn’t want the security officials to notice. “The Chinese are great at duplicating things, but not so great at inventing” said one major product manufacturer at the show who denied being on record.  “They [The Chinese] are the biggest threat to our business and there is very little recourse we can do.” Another interesting fact, the Chinese section has warning displays or signs stating that pictures are not allowed. However, in other sections such as those of the Americas, and Europe you will find no such signs.