We had all been holding our breath and hoping that Yorkshire Wildlife Park, who have a specially designed polar bear enclosure designed to mimic being in the wild, would be able to take the “world’s saddest” polar bear into custody (while I may not like zoos, this would have been infinitely better) but it has been confirmed that the shopping mall not only turned down the offer but have plans to expand their zoo.
“Yorkshire Wildlife Park has asked Guangzhou’s Grandview Aquarium to let them move Pizza, as he is known, to their specially designed polar bear habitat.The offer comes after pressure group Animals Asia collected over half a million signatures in a petition demanding the closure of the aquarium.”
“Jason Baker, vice president for PETA Asia, which has also campaigned for Pizza’s release, told CNN that “the lack of animal protection laws in China has allowed some of the most deplorable, backwards and decrepit facilities to continue operating. Animals are separated from their homes and families and confined to tiny cages and enclosures. Captivity drives many animals insane, causing them to bar bite, self-mutilate and spend hours a day pacing.”
The owners of the indoor zoo in Guangzhou insist they have made improvements to the park since July and have submitted their expansion plans to the authorities with hopes to finish the building by 2017. The proposed indoor zoo, about 5,900 sq m in size, will house pandas and white tigers among other animals (the aquarium is already home to beluga whales, walrus calves, a wolf and arctic foxes).
Unless the government does something quick, more animals will be subject to cramped, unnatural conditions.
My heart is breaking.
