Controversy over mistreatment of returned giant panda Fu Bao in China,
, ‘Amid the controversy that the giant panda Fu Bao (female, 4 years old) returned to China in April is being mistreated locally, panda fans from both Korea and China are uniting.’,
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Video of the giant panda Fu Bao released by the Chinese authorities on the 25th. Panda fans from Korea and China pointed out the act of tying a leash around Fu Bao’s neck in the breeding facility, where the fur was missing from her neck, questioning whether it was an act of mistreatment. /Social media of the Chinese Panda Conservation Research Center,
, ‘Recent posts on Chinese social media showed a scene where someone was touching or feeding a panda suspected to be Fu Bao with bare hands. The panda was in a cement-floored enclosure with scattered food pieces. Fu Bao currently resides in the Sichuan Wolong National Giant Panda Park in China. Due to their vulnerability to infections, the keepers at Samsung Everland, where Fu Bao was born in Korea in 2020 through natural breeding, always wore gloves.’,
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, ‘Chinese panda fans mentioned that the panda base has recently been offering a “Panda Feeding Experience” package, questioning whether Fu Bao is being used for high-level entertainment. They expressed reactions such as “They provide a spacious garden, so why the dirty cement floor?” Chinese fans raised concerns about the possibility of Fu Bao being exposed to outsiders or being secretly approached and abused.’,
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, ‘Fu Bao is a panda born in Korea at Samsung Everland in 2020 through natural breeding, but was returned to China in April in accordance with China’s panda ownership policy. However, since then, there have been continuous controversies about Fu Bao being mistreated in a much worse environment by the Chinese authorities than at Everland.’,
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, ‘The Chinese panda base released a video on the 25th stating that “Fu Bao’s adaptation is improving,” but Fu Bao appeared to be lethargic and had a scar on her forehead, showing signs of maltreatment compared to when she was in Korea. Suspicion was also raised about the marks on her neck, speculating that they were caused by being tied with a leash. Fans from both countries protested, saying, “The explanations from the panda base are inconsistent.” ‘,
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, ‘Chinese fans told Korean fans, “We have been blocked and put on a ‘blacklist’ by the panda base. We have no choice but to rely on Korean fans.” In response, Korean fans said, “Let’s show the strength of free democratic Korea, not the communist country China,” and “Let’s keep fighting for Fu Bao.” Korean fans posted an English petition “Please protect Fu Bao, stop animal entertainment,” on the international petition site ‘Change.org’ and as of 10:30 p.m. on the 26th, the number of petitioners has exceeded 30,000.’,
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