Develop 'cute' animal initiatives with tourist safety in mind

A hotel in Chongqing has made headlines for its "Red Panda Wakeup Service," which allows guests to interact with a red panda for a fee.

Since its launch, this close contact service has seen significant demand. Guests even shared "cute" photos and videos of their children snuggling with the red pandas in bed.

One hotel guest who used the service described the experience: "The little panda would usually come to our room at 9:30am and would sometimes jump onto the bed, letting the children pet its back. After 10am, guests could visit the pandas in their den while enjoying breakfast."

However, several viewers cautioned about the dangers of this behavior, pointing out that the red panda has an unusually high biting force and poses a significant safety risk when in close contact with children. Others debated whether it is appropriate to employ wild animals for such commercial services. Some also advocated for refraining from sharing content that portrays them as pets to aid in wildlife conservation.

Following social media exposure, on June 17, the local Chongqing Forestry Bureau ordered the River and Holiday Hotel, which had been marketing such rooms to parents and children for 2,000 to 3,000 yuan (US$282-422) per night, to discontinue the service immediately and ordered an investigation into the matter.

In a circular issued on Sunday detailing the findings of the bureau's investigation, it states that, while the concerned parties had obtained relevant permits for artificial propagation of the red panda, providing services that involve such close contact between animals and hotel occupants was outside the scope of legal provisions.

The four red pandas have since returned to the park. Only one of the four red pandas, perhaps one or two years old, had participated in the "wake-up" service, it said.

The cancellation of the service should serve as a reminder to the tourism and hospitality sectors that innovation won't progress unless it fully addresses legal, ethical, and social issues.

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), sometimes known as the lesser panda or firefox, is roughly the size of a fat house cat, with a long, bushy, ringed tail and rust-red fur.

The state categorizes this small, arboreal animal, native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, as an endangered species and provides it with second-class protection.

Yang Zhaoxia, deputy director of the Institute of Ecological Civilization and director of the Center for Ecological Law Research at Beijing Forestry University, feels that the construction of such theme hotels is a recent phenomenon.

According to Yang, Article 28 of China's Wildlife Protection Law prohibits the sale, purchase, and exploitation of wild animals as well as their products. Where their products are required for scientific research, artificial breeding, public display and exhibition, cultural relic protection, or other special circumstances, relevant approval must be obtained from the provincial government's wildlife protection department.

Yang said that a significant issue with the theme hotels in question is whether the wild animals involved fall within Article 28's "public display and exhibition" or qualify for "other special circumstances."

Since the law does not specify whether "public display and exhibition" or "other special circumstances" should apply to theme hotels, the final decision is open to interpretation by the legislative authority or the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Another area of concern is safety.

Red pandas are more closely related to raccoons or weasels.

Deng Changlin, a senior veterinarian, asserts that red pandas, whether wild or artificially bred, are naturally timid and may attack humans when disturbed. They should therefore be kept at a distance. Deng argued that even if they are vaccinated, close human-animal interaction could still pose a danger of virus transmission.

According to an Internet post by a woman who stayed with her family at a wildlife hotel in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, on February 11, a red panda mauled her husband's arm.

A viral video showed the red panda lingering in the hotel room before leaping from one bed to another and immediately sinking its teeth into the man's elbow. His wife, who shared the post, warned, "If you choose to stay in the hotel, it is necessary to keep it [red panda] out of the beds."

On February 12, hotel sources said that the matter had been resolved satisfactorily. "Red pandas are docile in general, and once inside a hotel room, they would be monitored by our staff and given timely warnings. We also recommend that guests avoid excessive contact with the red panda."

An advertising booklet for the hotel near Nantong Forest Safari Park claimed, "We allow zero-distance contacts with red pandas, or even red pandas 'knocking' at your door, in a truly wildlife experience."

Similar incidents involving other animals have been reported before.

On February 17 last year, a female visitor was bruised while posing for a photo with a white fox (Alopex lagopus) on a Harbin street.

Local tourist agencies and entities across the country are doing all they can to boost local tourism, but when it comes to new efforts using "cute" animals, they must demonstrate adequate respect for other species and take the highest priority for the safety of fellow humans.