A few days ago, some netizens posted that Hebei Hengshui Wildlife Park forced young monkeys to smoke and shoot short videos suspected of animal abuse, or to attract attention and publicize the park in a hype way.
After the post was published, it triggered a hot discussion on the Internet. Some netizens believe that the zoo's practice is unscientific and non-standardized; the practice of inducing animals to behave unnaturally and shooting short videos may cause harm to the physical and mental health of animals.
On November 4, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation said it was currently paying attention to the matter and would investigate. On November 5, the county chief hotline operator in Wuyi County, Hengshui, where the zoo is located, told Red Star News that the county government had urged the zoo to verify the situation. If animal cruelty does occur, it should be dealt with promptly.
↑ Controversial "Monkey Smoking" video.
Before the press release, in the short video account of Hengshui Wildlife Park, videos that were questioned by netizens such as "monkey smoking" have been deleted.
The zoo released a video of monkeys smoking, saying that the original intention was to promote a smoking ban
In the most controversial video, a monkey sits on a small bench with a lit cigarette and blinks constantly due to smoke stimulation; after the cigarette is taken away, the monkey rubs his eyes, and then lies down on the ground, covered with a white cloth, suggesting "death", and the words "smoking is harmful to health" appear in the video.
Red Star News reporters saw in the short video account of Hengshui Wildlife Park that the zoo attracted tourists by promoting projects such as feeding hippos, ostriches, zebras, sika deer, "buying meat and feeding tigers" at close range, but ignored that people and wild animals should maintain a certain distance.
↑ Man swings the rope that the monkey climbs.
In addition, in a number of short videos released by the account, the behavior of the breeders is suspected of playing with animals and operating irregularly. For example, a man quickly swings the rope that the monkey climbs, causing the monkey to scream in horror; a woman is suspected of climbing on the edge of the cage of the tiger house to avoid the chase of the young tiger, and "driving" the young tiger below with her foot, which looks more dangerous; the young tiger, the young monkey, and the puppy are in close contact, tearing each other and fighting, and the young tiger occasionally presses the young monkey under his body and tears the clothes of the young monkey, causing people to worry that the young monkey will be bitten.
On November 4, a Red Star News reporter called the complaint hotline of Hengshui Wildlife Park. Operators responded that the most controversial "monkey smoking" video is to promote "smoking is harmful to health" public welfare video. The monkey in the video is just "posing" with a cigarette, not "smoking".
↑ Close contact between young monkeys, young monkeys, and dogs.
The operator said that the keeper has been with the animal for a long time, knows the habits of the animal very well, believes that the behavior in the short video will not pose a threat to the safety and health of the animal, and said that there is no animal performance in Hengshui Wildlife Park. The operator said that the man swung the rope that the monkey climbed "to exercise the animal's ability to survive in the wild"; in addition, the young tiger and the young monkey are not aggressive, the danger is not high, and it is safe to fight together. For the video of the woman climbing on the edge of the cage in the tiger house, the young tiger and the young monkey in close contact with the noisy video, the complaint hotline operator said that the woman is a breeder, but he does not understand the specific situation, please ask the reporter private message zoo short video account to inquire.
According to the information on the official website of Hengshui Wildlife Park, Hengshui Wildlife Park is located in the southeast of Wuyi County's southeast ecological new city and in the 10,000-mu Forest Park, which is a "national second-level wildlife park", with wildlife protection, public education and leisure tourism as the main functions, and is both experiential, public welfare and popular science. There are a total of 1794 animals in 9 categories and 76 species in the park.
Regarding the nature of the zoo, the operator told Red Star News that some of the animals in Hengshui Wildlife Park are artificially bred and bred, and the other part lives in an environment that imitates the wild. When the cubs are raised, the nurseries will release the animals in the park to mimic the wild environment, for example, let the monkeys grow up by hand to live with the monkeys in the park. Some herbivores and "cute pets" can contact and interact with tourists.
Subsequently, the reporter sent a private message to the short video account of Hengshui Wildlife Park to ask relevant questions. As of press time, the other party did not respond, but the videos questioned by netizens such as "monkey smoking" have been deleted.
The abuse of wild animals is suspected of violating the law, and multiple departments have stepped in to investigate
On November 4, Ma Yong, deputy secretary-general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation and secretary general of the Legislative Affairs Commission, told Red Star News in an interview that monkeys, tigers and other animals in the zoo, even if they are artificially raised and bred, their attributes are still "wild animals", which applies to the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 26 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Animals stipulates that the artificial breeding of wild animals under key national protection shall be conducive to species protection and its scientific research, and wild animals shall not be abused. The act of letting monkeys smoke is suspected of abusing wild animals and is illegal. Although the park said that the original intention of the video was to "promote the harmful health of smoking", it cannot be denied that the behavior has caused harm to the body and mind of the animals.
Ma Yong said, "Smoking is not the nature of monkeys. Using monkeys to shoot anti-smoking promotional videos is unreasonable, non-compliant, and illegal. From the perspective of zoo management, such acts violate basic operating procedures. Since the photographer clearly knows that smoking is harmful to health, why should the monkeys be exposed to harmful gases? In addition, animals also have basic emotions and psychology. Forcing an animal to accept behavior that is not in keeping with its nature can have an impact on the animal's psychology. ”
However, the law faces difficulties in its implementation. Ma Yong told Red Star News that although the Wildlife Protection Law lists the abuse of wild animals as a prohibited act, it does not specify what kind of situation is the abuse of wild animals, nor does it stipulate the corresponding legal responsibility, so there is a lack of specific reference when accountability and handling of relevant responsible persons. There are still gaps in existing laws and regulations, and all sectors of society have been calling for the improvement of laws related to animal protection.
↑In the promotional video released by Hengshui Wildlife Park, visitors can feed the animals up close.
Ma Yong believes that it is not scientific to let young tigers, young monkeys, and dogs get close to and fight, and let tourists get close to wild animals. Appropriate distances should be maintained between humans and wildlife, otherwise there may be a risk to personal safety or zoonotic diseases. For animal performances, China has not yet issued prohibitive laws, but Ma Yong said that animal performances are not worth advocating.
"When viewing animals, humans are consuming the expressions and movements made by animals, and animals often do not make these expressions and actions voluntarily. In training, if an animal disobeys the instructions, it will be punished and paid a price, which is harmful to the animal," Ma Yong said.
Ma Yong told Red Star News that for the management of wildlife parks, China has issued relevant national standards and industry standards, such as the "Zoo Animal Safety Management Specifications", "Zoo Animal Management Technical Regulations", "General Rules for China's Wild Animal Domestication Performance Industry" and "Urban Zoo Management Regulations", etc., which make requirements for zoo management, breeder qualifications and codes of conduct.
The Red Star News reporter saw that in terms of the management of animal conservation personnel, the "Zoo Animal Safety Management Specification" stipulates that the zoo should clarify the standards for the induction and transfer of animal conservation personnel, clarify the suitability testing mechanism and frequency of animal conservation positions, and can be tested at least once a year. The content of the test should include the childcare worker's safety awareness, attitude towards rules and regulations, and emotional adjustment ability. During the period of service, childcare workers should carry out routine training at least once a year according to actual needs. That is to say, when wildlife conservationists take up their posts, they should meet the corresponding standards, and during their in-service period, they should receive long-term testing, training and assessment.
In terms of the personal safety of keepers, the "Zoo Animal Management Technical Regulations" stipulates that the sweeping of cages and cages of ferocious animals should be strictly operated in accordance with the regulations. Entering the cage where the animals can be touched, the necessary protective equipment should be held, the animal's appearance should be paid attention to, and the two people should be rounded up.
In terms of social supervision, the "Zoo Animal Safety Management Specification" stipulates that reports and complaints related to animal safety management shall be investigated and handled within 5 working days, and the whistleblower or complainant shall be communicated with the informant or complainant in a timely manner to do a good job in the aftermath.
Ma Yong told Red Star News that although the relevant laws and regulations still need to be improved, they can be supplemented through public interest litigation. For acts such as harming wild animals and damaging the ecological environment, the public may respond to the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, which will initiate a civil public interest lawsuit or environmental public interest lawsuit.
Among them, civil public interest litigation is applicable to acts such as disabling and causing death to wild animals. In this incident, the videographer made the monkey smoke or caused damage to the monkey's physical and mental health. At present, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation has learned of this matter and decided to investigate. If the situation is true and the evidence is sufficient, an environmental public interest lawsuit may be filed against the zoo, and the zoo will be urged to take measures to stop the relevant acts immediately.
On November 5, Red Star News reporters repeatedly called the Hengshui Forestry Bureau, but no one answered. The reporter also called the hotline of the mayor of Hengshui City. The operator said that yesterday many citizens had called the hotline to reflect the situation, and it has now been handed over to the Wuyi County Government for handling by the county government. The reporter then called the hotline of the county magistrate of Wuyi County. The hotline operator told Red Star News that the county government has urged the zoo to investigate and verify the relevant situation, and if there is indeed animal cruelty, the zoo should deal with it in a timely manner. At present, the county government is still waiting for the zoo to feedback the results of the processing.
Red Star News reporter Dani Luo Intern reporter Wang Yucheng
Edited by Zhang Xun
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