Hotel which uses a live PANDA to wake up guests is rapped by local forestry bureau amid animal rights concerns
A hotel in China which uses live red pandas to wake up guests has been rapped by the local forestry bureau amid animal rights concerns.
The Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, in the mountainous countryside near the southwestern city of Chongqing, advertise 'red panda-themed holidays'.
They allowed the furry creatures to visit boarders in their rooms to providing an adorable wake-up call, until publicity attracted criticism of the practice.
Videos posted to social media even show the endangered animals sitting on overjoyed tourists beds and interacting with them.
Many safari experiences in the country promise close contact with animals, but it is the hotel's red panda meet-and-greets which caught the attention of local media.
A Chinese magazine published an article about the service which triggered discussion over ethics on social media.
This caught the attention of the local forestry bureau who then sent inspectors to investigate.
The bureau released a statement to say it had ordered an immediate halt to all 'close contact' activities red pandas and vowed to report back on any further findings - which is often seen as a threat of prosecution or fines.
British YouTubers Ben and Reanne Dridger, who post vlogs of their travels through China's provinces, gushed about their own red panda encounter at the hotel in April.
'China is the only place in the world where you can have a panda delivered to your room to sit on your bed with you,' Ben said before panning the camera to Reanne who was hand feeding chunks of apple to the friendly, and seemingly docile, animal.
'That's so cool,' remarked Reanne, as the red panda - one of four kept at the hotel - crawled across the bed and sniffed the camera pointed in its face.
Chinese guests posted similar videos of interaction with the animals on Douyin - a popular social media site in the country.
Hotel staff said how long the creatures decide to stay in guest's rooms 'depended on the red panda's mood that day', China Newsweek reported.
Communist Party newspaper The Global Times put out a severe warning that the practice may be a breach of animal rights.
The hotel responded to concerns over red pandas potentially being unhygienic or dangerous to children by insisting they were all vaccinated, and children were required to be accompanied by an adult.
Despite their name, red pandas are not closely related to the black and white giant pandas which live in the same region of China, and is in fact part of the extended raccoon family.
Red pandas are currently listed as an endangered species by the IUCN, and it is believed there are less than 10,000 living in the wild.
Before a ban in 2018, close contact activities with giant pandas, such as paying for pictures with cubs, was common practice.
But the Liangjiang Hotel seems to have dodged prosecution due to the fact red pandas are not technically in the giant panda family.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Hotel slammed for using endangered red pandas to wake up guests by letting cuddly critters crawl into their beds
A HOTEL in China uses endangered red pandas to wake up its guests, allowing the cuddly animals to crawl into their beds. However, the Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, situated in the remote countryside near the southwestern city of Chongqing, has been rapped by the local forestry agency due to animal welfare concerns. 5 5 5 The hotel draws in the guests by advertising 'red panda-themed holidays' where the loveable animals are allowed into rooms as a way of waking people up. While the publicity has brought in the guests it has also attracted criticism. Clips on social media show the endangered animals sitting on beds and interacting with the guests, who appear to be delighted to have them in their rooms. The hotel has drawn the attention of local media with a Chinese magazine featuring the unusual hotel which triggered a discussion on social media about the ethical use of the animals. In turn, the publicity drew the attention of the local forestry bureau who sent a team of inspectors round to investigate. A statement issued by the bureau said it had ordered the immediate halt to all 'close contact' activities with the red pandas and added it would report back on any further findings. Brit YouTube stars Ben and Reanne Dridger, from Portsmouth, who update their fans with vlogs of their travels through China, loved their encounter with the red pandas when they visited the hotel in April. Speaking to the camera, Ben said: 'China is the only place in the world where you can have a panda delivered to your room to sit on your bed with you,' before the camera panned to Reanne who was seen hand feeding pieces of apple to the friendly animal. Reanne then remarked: 'That's so cool,' as the red panda, one of four kept by the hotel, crawled across the bed and sniffed the camera. Footage has also been posted by Chinese guests on the country's popular social media site Douyin. Hotel staff have said how long the creatures stay in a guest's room 'depended on the red panda's mood that day,' according to a report by China Newsweek. The Global Times, a communist party newspaper, though has put out a severe warning that the practice could be in breach of animal rights. The hotel has responded to concerns over the treatment of the red pandas possibly being unhygienic or dangerous to children by saying the animals were all vaccinated and children had to be accompanied by an adult. Red pandas are currently listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and estimates say there are less than 10,000 living in the wild. Despite their name they are not closely related to the larger black and white giant pandas which live in the same region of China. Red pandas are part of the extended raccoon family. Before a ban was introduced in 2018, close contact with giant pandas, including photographs with cubs, was common practice. The Liangjiang Hotel appears to have swerved prosecution due to the fact red pandas are not technically in the giant panda family. 5
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Hotel which uses a live PANDA to wake up guests is rapped by local forestry bureau amid animal rights concerns
A hotel in China which uses live red pandas to wake up guests has been rapped by the local forestry bureau amid animal rights concerns. The Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, in the mountainous countryside near the southwestern city of Chongqing, advertise 'red panda-themed holidays'. They allowed the furry creatures to visit boarders in their rooms to providing an adorable wake-up call, until publicity attracted criticism of the practice. Videos posted to social media even show the endangered animals sitting on overjoyed tourists beds and interacting with them. Many safari experiences in the country promise close contact with animals, but it is the hotel's red panda meet-and-greets which caught the attention of local media. A Chinese magazine published an article about the service which triggered discussion over ethics on social media. This caught the attention of the local forestry bureau who then sent inspectors to investigate. The bureau released a statement to say it had ordered an immediate halt to all 'close contact' activities red pandas and vowed to report back on any further findings - which is often seen as a threat of prosecution or fines. British YouTubers Ben and Reanne Dridger, who post vlogs of their travels through China's provinces, gushed about their own red panda encounter at the hotel in April. 'China is the only place in the world where you can have a panda delivered to your room to sit on your bed with you,' Ben said before panning the camera to Reanne who was hand feeding chunks of apple to the friendly, and seemingly docile, animal. 'That's so cool,' remarked Reanne, as the red panda - one of four kept at the hotel - crawled across the bed and sniffed the camera pointed in its face. Chinese guests posted similar videos of interaction with the animals on Douyin - a popular social media site in the country. Hotel staff said how long the creatures decide to stay in guest's rooms 'depended on the red panda's mood that day', China Newsweek reported. Communist Party newspaper The Global Times put out a severe warning that the practice may be a breach of animal rights. The hotel responded to concerns over red pandas potentially being unhygienic or dangerous to children by insisting they were all vaccinated, and children were required to be accompanied by an adult. Despite their name, red pandas are not closely related to the black and white giant pandas which live in the same region of China, and is in fact part of the extended raccoon family. Red pandas are currently listed as an endangered species by the IUCN, and it is believed there are less than 10,000 living in the wild. Before a ban in 2018, close contact activities with giant pandas, such as paying for pictures with cubs, was common practice. But the Liangjiang Hotel seems to have dodged prosecution due to the fact red pandas are not technically in the giant panda family.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Chinese hotel told ‘wake-up service' of red pandas climbing onto guest beds must stop
A Chinese hotel has been ordered to end its unusual wake-up call service that involves red pandas climbing onto guests' beds after concerns for safety and animal rights. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a popular family resort in Chongqing, has been called on by the local forestry bureau to stop one of its most popular services. Many guests are attracted to the hotel solely for its red panda wake-up experience. The service involves bringing one of the hotel's red pandas up to a guest's bedroom in the morning, allowing the panda to roam freely around the room and climb onto the bed. Reviews online for the resort show guests checking in just so they can book the experience and get up close to cute, furry animals from the comfort of their hotel room. One British couple, Reanne and Ben, who run the YouTube channel On Tour With Dridgers, documented their experience with the red pandas at Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel in April. The video shows the red panda first climbing a tree in the small courtyard between rooms before it roams through the corridor to the couple's room with a staff member, where it is given apple chunks and hops onto the bed. The YouTubers stroke the panda while it eats the apple from the palm of their hands. 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've got a panda on my bed,' Reanne says. Despite the popularity of the service, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau has reportedly asked the hotel to immediately cease all close contact activities between the pandas and visitors. Staff at the hotel told China Newsweek that four red pandas are kept onsite and take turns participating in the wake-up call room visits. A member of staff will lead them up to the guest rooms, and visitors are allowed to interact with them for a few minutes before the animal is led away again. There have been concerns about injury or disease transmission voiced by people online, but the hotel said that the red pandas are borrowed from a zoo, have been vaccinated and a cared for by dedicated staff. The hotel also said that young children should always be accompanied by an adult during the wake-up call session. Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection organisation, told the Global Times that red pandas are a nationally protected wild species and should not be kept as pets or for tourism-related entertainment. He added that the pandas are naturally sensitive animals, and being forced to interact with guests could trigger a stress response. The forest bureau has sent a team to the hotel to conduct an on-site investigation, and said it will release the results of this visit.
