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Close-up wildlife tours should be banned in Chinese zoos: experts

(People's Daily Online)    15:02, October 19, 2016

[File photo]

A fatal tiger mauling over the summer dealt a blow to the industry of safari-like zoo tours in China, causing a plunge in the number of interested tourists and leading experts to call for a ban on the tours.

In July, a woman was killed by a tiger while on a safari-style tour in Badaling Wildlife World Animal Park near Beijing. The woman got out of her car in the middle of a tiger enclosure, and was mauled to death by a tiger.

Unsurprisingly, the incident has dampened tourists’ enthusiasm when it comes to sharing close quarters with wild animals. According to a report released by YNET.com on Oct. 19, the numbers of tourists in several wild animal parks in China have dropped significantly. Beijing Wild Animal Park had 5,300 visitors last Sunday, down 25 percent from its numbers in October 2015.

“The incident has had a negative impact on zoos, and on Beijing’s tourism industry. People are worried about their safety when visiting zoos,” said Feng Yingqun, vice manager of the Beijing Wild Animal Park, in an interview with YNET.com.

Currently, there are two types of safari-like tours available in China. The first form offers tourists the chance to get right up next to wild animals, which is what led to the female tourist’s death in July. Only two operations are currently run this way. The alternative is using obstacles like waterways and ditches to separate the animals from visitors. This is the most common format for zoos in China.

“Due to the potential safety hazard, ‘zero-distance’ safari tours should be eliminated in China. Zoos and wildlife parks should weed out such outdated management techniques, and pay more attention to their main responsibilities: protecting wildlife and educating visitors,” said Peng Zhenxin, director of the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, to YNET.com.

“Beijing has many animal-themed scenic regions now, and the number is still growing. The government should raise the threshold for such parks, and also strengthen its supervision of them,” Peng said.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Kou Jie, Bianji)

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