The "world's saddest zoo" is in the Grandview Shopping Mall in Guangzhou, China. Polar bears, arctic foxes, beluga whales, a wolf, and walruses, are being kept in conditions that are so vastly removed from their natural habitat, they represent one of the most distressing examples of animal deprivation. Conditions at the Grandview do not even come close to meeting any internationally recognized standards.
The Grandview zoo animals deserve so much better.
Humane Society International is supporting our Chinese partner groups and our friends at Animals Asia Foundation and Born Free Foundation in speaking up for these animals in desperate need. We have already raised a complaint with a Chinese government office, and now we need to add your voices calling for swift action.
Sign our petition today in support of closing the zoo and rehoming all the animals in the best available sanctuary.
Dear Governor Zhu Xiaodan,
Subject: Shut down the Grandview Mall zoo!
We the undersigned are deeply distressed by the appalling animal suffering and woeful conditions at a 'zoo' housed at the Grandview shopping center in Guangzhou. The facility has been aptly called the "world's saddest zoo" because it houses animals including polar bears, arctic foxes, beluga whales, a wolf and walruses, in small, windowless rooms with no environmental enrichment whatsoever, and in conditions that are so vastly removed from their natural habitat as to inevitably be detrimental to their mental and physical welfare.
A shopping mall is a completely inappropriate environment for any animals to be kept, but the facility at the Grandview is truly shocking for its total lack of provision for even the basic needs of these animals. As well as enduring these very poor conditions, the animals also have no respite or escape from visitors who frequently bang on the glass. Whilst no captive situation can ever replicate the diversity and space of the wild, conditions at the Grandview do not even come close to meeting any internationally recognised standards.
This exhibit brings shame on China, and we fully support calls by Humane Society International's Chinese partner groups for you to take immediate action to close the 'zoo' at the Grandview shopping center and to rehome all the animals in the best available sanctuary.
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Sincerely,
[Your name]
