A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the uninterrupted enjoyment of its guests was immediately condemned by conservationists.
In Harbin Polar Land, in northeastern China, the hotel’s bedroom windows face the bear enclosure, and visitors say the animals are their “neighbors 24 hours a day”.
A video shows the bears – an endangered species – being photographed by a crowd of guests under bright warm lights, in a space made up of fake stones and icicles and white painted floors.
Animal rights organizations reacted with indignation, urging customers to stay away from establishments that profit “from the misery of animals”.
“Polar bears belong to the Arctic, not to zoos or aquarium glass cases – and certainly not to hotels,” said Peta Asia vice president Jason Baker.
In the wild, polar bears often roam territories that can span thousands of kilometers, Baker added.
Harbin is famous for its ice sculpture festival, and the hotel resembles a giant igloo, its roof covered with artificial ice. But some Chinese social media users have expressed discomfort with the topic being pushed to that extreme.
“A panoramic prison for polar bears … Didn’t we learn anything about cruelty to animals?” said a commentator.
“Gaps in China’s wildlife protection law allow companies to exploit animals without any concern for their welfare,” a spokesman for the China Animal Protection Network, who declined to be identified, told AFP.
Chinese authorities recently changed the law to ban the consumption of wild animals for food, after speculation about the origins of the coronavirus led researchers to a Wuhan market where live animals were for sale.
But the use of parts of endangered species in traditional medicine remains rampant, and Chinese circuses and zoos are often criticized for inadequate animal housing and care standards.