Barely opened, a Chinese hotel finds itself in the crosshairs of animal rights activists.
And for good reason, the establishment exhibits polar bears for the sole pleasure of its customers.
The hotel is located in Harbin, the capital of a province bordering Russian Siberia, in the northeast of the country.
Winters here are harsh, with temperatures reaching -20 ° C, and summers can be long and hot.
The large glass windows of the rooms allow guests to have a panoramic view of the bears installed in the central patio, surmounted by a glass roof and in which are installed ponds, rocks and artificial stalactites.
A video shows the large mammals, considered an endangered species, photographed by many visitors under strong artificial light.
"The place of polar bears is in the Arctic, not in zoos or glass aquariums and certainly not in hotels," responded Jason Baker, vice president for Asia of the animal rights association. Peta, based in the United States.
He denounces an establishment "which takes advantage of the distress of animals", while the natural territory of wild polar bears generally extends over several thousand kilometers.
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On Chinese social networks too, most Internet users say they are uncomfortable with this hotel open in the "Harbin Polar Park", an amusement park in the city.
»A panoramic prison for polar bears ... So we haven't learned anything about animal cruelty?
“, Estimated a user of the social network Weibo.
The loopholes in Chinese wildlife protection law allow some companies to exploit animals without worrying about their welfare, ”a spokesperson for the Chinese Protection Network told AFP. animals.
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In France, One Voice recalls that “if in China, we lock up polar bears in a hotel, in France, they are brown bears who live in circus trucks.
The general message to be transmitted is to make people understand that wild animals have nothing to do in captivity, ”insists Muriel Arnal, the head of the association for the defense of animals.