Mother of HK panda focus of abuse claim
Claims that an elderly giant panda was abused and neglected by employees at a Shenzhen zoo will be the subject of an investigation starting today, the State Forestry Administration has promised.
The government agency stepped in after the claims by the mainland's internet community generated widespread condemnation.
The Wolong National Natural Reserve in Sichuan , which 'owns' the panda, has threatened to take the animal back if maltreatment is confirmed.
The storm of protest began after a visitor to the Shenzhen Safari Park posted online that the 25-year-old giant panda, nicknamed Yongba, was fed twice a day with a little milk and some steamed maize buns.
The posting said the emaciated animal had beaten on a door for more food and was forced to pose for photos with visitors to raise extra money for the zoo.
More than 250,000 people had viewed the post within two days and many accused the zoo of cruelty.
A Guangdong Forestry Administration spokesman said a panda expert from Wolong would arrive in Shenzhen today to start the investigation.
'We have required the zoo to provide credible health records of the panda to ensure it hasn't been mistreated or neglected,' Wolong director Zhang Hemin was quoted by the West China Metropolis Daily as saying.
According to Xinhua, the Shenzhen park has already taken action in an attempt to calm a public outcry, including suspending the trainer who was accused of forcing the panda to pose for photos and shutting down the souvenir shop that sold panda photos.
It also said the panda beating on the door was a habitual behaviour, not out of starvation.
Yongba gave birth to 28 cubs in Sichuan before she was retired from the reserve's breeding programme and sent to Shenzhen four years ago. The reserve is the site of the country's main panda breeding programme.
Yongba's offspring are in Hong Kong, Beijing and the United States. But, as one netizen wrote, nobody could imagine a grandmother living such a miserable life and not receiving necessary health care.
'I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw that the thin panda was unable to sleep the whole afternoon because of hunger. She was given only two slices of apple after she posed for photos with tourists for 10 yuan [HK$11.35] per person,' the post said.
A zoo spokesman, however, said it was misleading to describe the treatment of the animal as abuse. Chen Chuwen denied that the panda was starved because they spent 4,000 yuan a month on food for her.
