HUBEI - The founder of a kindergarten in central China dissected a whole pig in front of a crowd of young children as part of its education, but netizens are wondering if the demonstration is too gory for preschoolers.

In footage posted on Pear Video, a China-based short video platform, a man in white robe was seen cutting open a pig which had been secured on a makeshift wooden rack, as children at the Fuwawa kindergarten tried to squeeze to the front to watch the butchering.

The man also removed and held up the pig's innards to show the children as he explained how to dissect a swine. He is said to be the founder of the kindergarten in the town of Yesanguan in Hubei province's Badong county, the Beijing Time news site reported.

Some netizens found the scene too inappropriate and bloody, while others felt it was a learning opportunity for the young children.

Speaking to the media after the video which was shot on Jan 19 went viral, the kindergarten's principal Huang Fengli said the children would not find the demonstration traumatising as pig slaughtering was a local custom which symbolised prosperity.

"We are guiding the children from the perspective of anatomy to learn about the structure and organs of a pig, so as to lay their foundation for biology in the future," she said.

Parents had been informed of the event beforehand and none of them objected to it, she noted.

The pig, which was reared in the school, was later cooked and served to parents and the schoolchildren during mealtime as part of the school's Chinese New Year celebration.