Latest news with #lion cub cuddles
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Restaurant in China criticised for putting baby lion cuddles on menu
A restaurant in northern China has been criticised by animal welfare groups for offering an unusual item on the menu: lion cub cuddles. According to a screenshot of a menu circulating on social media, Wanhui – a restaurant in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province – has a four-course set afternoon menu costing 1,192 yuan ($166/£124) that includes playtime with the in-house animals. The restaurant's profile on Dazhong Dianping, a popular restaurant listings app, shows pictures of the lion cubs alongside other animals, such as deer and alligators. The menu on the Dianping page does not include lions in its list of animals but says customers can play with llamas, turtles and meerkats. Several photos show customers snuggling the baby lions. In one review posted this month, a customer sits with a lion cub on her lap, holding the its paw to wave to the camera. The woman's review reads: 'I can pet a cute little lion in a small shop! 🦁 It's called Simba, and looks so good. There are staff to guide you, so you don't have to worry about safety issues!' While some influencers have jumped at the chance to post eye-catching photographs on social media, the reaction of Chinese people online has been mostly negative. 'They're putting profit above consumer safety – it's way too dangerous,' wrote one Weibo user. Chinese media reported that the Shanxi forestry and grasslands bureau was investigating the matter, adding that this kind of human-animal contact was prohibited. Peter Li, a China policy expert for Humane World for Animals, told Reuters: 'Exploiting wild animals for selfies and marketing gimmicks is not only appallingly bad animal welfare, it's also potentially risky for customers.' It is not the first exotic animal welfare scandal in China. Last month, tourists visiting a zoo in Liaoning, in the north-east, were condemned for reaching through a metal grate to pull tufts of hair off a tiger. A hotel in Chongqing, a city in south-west China, recently attracted scorn for offering a 'wake-up service' delivered by red pandas, which could climb into guests' beds. Contact between humans and exotic animals has also been highlighted by experts as a potential risk for the spread of zoonotic diseases, such as Covid-19. Staff at Wanhui repeatedly hung up the phone when called by the Guardian. According to Reuters, the restaurant said the lion cubs were well cared for by specialist staff. Additional research by Lillian Yang
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
Chinese restaurant slammed for offering cuddles with LION cubs – and they're not the only wild animals diners can pet
A CHINESE restaurant has been slammed for offering lion cub cuddles alongside afternoon tea - and they are not the only wild animals diners can pet. Patrons at Wanhui Tower, based in Taiyuan city, offers a luxury tea service that includes a "mascot interaction" with lion cubs for a hefty price tag of £124. 7 7 Patrons have been posting selfies cradling the cubs on Chinese social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo, with some boasting they were also able to pet alpacas, deer, llamas and turtles – all while enjoying dessert. But the restaurant's bold move has triggered a flood of criticism and now a formal probe by the Shanxi Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau. Although Wanhui Tower was granted a licence to breed and display two African lions, authorities said that close human-animal contact is prohibited and that the matter is being handled "urgently" – a phrase in China that often signals looming legal trouble. But the restaurant, located in northern China's Shanxi province, is doubling down. The eatery claimed in a defiant statement: "We operate like zoos – why can't lions be used commercially?" Major animal rights groups have since pounced. Jason Baker, Senior Vice President of PETA, said: "Tearing lion cubs from their mothers so diners can handle them over afternoon tea is exploitation, not entertainment. "These animals are living, feeling beings, not toys." He added the cubs were being "treated like nothing more than social media props." Peter Li, China policy expert for Humane World for Animals, warned the stunt was "not only appallingly bad animal welfare, it's also potentially risky for customers." 'Even a young lion is capable of lashing out and injuring a human,' he said. 'So, treating wild animals like props is both morally unacceptable and dangerously irresponsible.' The controversy adds to a growing list of bizarre and troubling wildlife gimmicks at entertainment venues across China. Earlier this year, police in Thailand raided a 'lion café' in Phuket, arresting two Chinese nationals for illegally running a similar pet-a-cub scheme. Guests there could snap photos with lion cubs for £12–£23. Closer to home, a hotel near Chongqing drew fire after offering a 'red panda wake-up call,' where guests could have the wild animals brought into their rooms and allowed to crawl into bed with them. China's zoos, too, are under the microscope. 7 7 In March, a 'very big cat' incident sparked fury after footage of a shockingly obese black panther at Chengdu Zoo went viral. The panther, aged 16, could barely walk, and social media lit up with criticism over her bloated condition. One commenter quipped: 'I thought she was pregnant, but it turned out that she was overweight. Please ask her to exercise more.' Another zoo in Zibo, Shandong province, was caught painting donkeys with black and white stripes to pass them off as zebras – a stunt staff described as a 'marketing strategy.' Earlier this year, staff at Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province dyed chow chows to look like tiger cubs in a brazen attempt to fool visitors. The same zoo previously painted puppies to look like pandas. 7 7
