Chinese Hotel with Live Polar Bears Fully Booked
A hotel called ‘Harbin Polar Land’ in Heilongjiang built a room in which polar bears are held captive to attract tourists.
A hotel called ‘Harbin Polar Land’ in the north-eastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang came up with a very strange idea to attract tourists. In the middle of the hotel they built a room in which polar bears are held captive. It is a small space where the bears can walk around and all around the room there are 33 glass windows. People staying in any room of the hotel, can look at the polar bears. You may think that the polar bears are put on display for a short time, but no. They are made to stay inside the room 24x7 so the hotel customers can watch them anytime they want. The hotel says that there is no such hotel in the world. They are the first. Rooms at the polar bear hotel cost roughly around Rs 21,000 - Rs 25,000 a night. The hotel has been completely booked.
A video was shared on social media in which a polar bear could be seen pacing back and forth in the room. When experts saw the video they said that it could be clearly seen that the bear is not happy. Animal-rights activists have urged guests to stay away from such hotels. PETA vice president Asia - Jason Baker said: "PETA urges guests to stay away from this hotel and any company establishment that profits from animals’ suffering. When in nature the polar bears were active for up to 18 hours a day. They have a habit of walking thousands of kilometres a day and swimming in water. It is very sad to see them trapped in a small hotel room for the enjoyment of humans. Polar bears belong in nature, not in zoos or glass boxes in aquariums and not in hotels.”
In 2016, a mall in Guangzhou, China had bears, beluga whales and walruses in small rooms for people to see. People said that these rooms looked like prisons. Aquariums and themed wildlife parks are a booming industry in China, but animal welfare advocates have raised concerns about what often are cramped, unnatural living conditions.
