Latest news with #restaurant controversy
The Guardian
6 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
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
China restaurant offering tea and lion cub hugs criticized by animal groups
A lion cub born in November 2024, plays in her enclosure at Paira Daiza Zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman) HONG KONG - A restaurant in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi offering hugs with lion cubs while diners have a four-course tea has been criticized by animal welfare groups and drawn condemnation online, however the restaurant says the cubs are well cared for. Some customers of Wanhui restaurant in Taiyuan city have posted pictures and video clips of themselves cradling lion cubs on China's WeChat and Weibo platforms. Wanhui, which opened in June, sells about 20 tickets a day to customers looking to snuggle with the animals as part of a set menu costing 1,078 yuan (US$150). The restaurant told Reuters that it did have lion cubs at the restaurant and that they were taken care of very well, with specialized carers to tend to them. While some zoos around the world, such as in Singapore or Australia, offer dining experiences near animal enclosures or views of the wildlife, it is rare for a restaurant to have direct physical interaction with wild animals. Besides the cubs, the restaurant also features llamas, turtles and deer on its page on Douyin, China's counterpart to social media app TikTok. Online comments were mostly critical, saying the Chinese restaurant venture was dangerous and not good for the animals. 'This is for the rich to play,' said one Weibo user. Another user urged action by the authorities, adding, 'The relevant departments should take care of it.' '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,' People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Senior Vice President Jason Baker told Reuters. He added that the animals were 'treated like nothing more than social media props.' Peter Li, China policy expert for Humane World for Animals, said: 'Exploiting wild animals for selfies and marketing gimmicks is 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. So, treating wild animals like props is both morally unacceptable and dangerously irresponsible.' Last month, Chinese authorities investigated a hotel for offering a 'wake-up service' with red pandas, state media said. The hotel in the southwestern region of Chongqing allowed the animals to climb onto beds to awaken guests. Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Alexandra Hudson, Reuters
