ホッキョクグマに会えるホテル、中国に開業　動物愛護団体が非難

【ハルビンＡＦＰ＝時事】中国北東部黒竜江省ハルビンに12日、建物内でホッキョクグマが飼育されているホテルが開業した。動物愛護団体が直ちに非難の声を上げた。（写真は中国・ハルビンに開業した、建物内でホッキョクグマが飼育されているホテル）
　利用客らは、展示スペースで過ごすホッキョクグマの姿を、客室などから１日２４時間眺めることができる。
　ホッキョクグマは、国際自然保護連合（ＩＵＣＮ）が定める絶滅の恐れのある野生生物種の一覧「レッドリスト」で「危急種」に指定されている。
　動物愛護団体は怒りを示し、「動物の苦痛」から利益を得る施設の利用は避けるよう呼び掛けている。
　動物の倫理的扱いを求める人々の会（ＰＥＴＡ）アジア支部のジェイソン・ベーカー副会長は「ホッキョクグマは北極にいるべきもの。動物園や水族館のガラスの箱、もちろんホテルにいるべきものではない」と批判した。本来の生息環境では、ホッキョクグマが数千キロ移動しながら生きていることも指摘した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/03/15-12:22）

A Chinese hotel built around a central polar bear enclosure for the non-stop viewing pleasure of its guests opened Friday to immediate condemnation from conservationists.
At Harbin Polar Land in northeastern China, the hotel bedrooms' windows face onto the bears' pen, with visitors told the animals are their neighbours 24 hours a day.
A video shows the bears -- a threatened species -- photographed by crowds of guests under harsh warm lights, in a space consisting of fake rocks and icicles, and a white painted floor.
Animal rights organisations reacted with outrage, urging customers to stay away from establishments profiting from animals' misery.
Polar bears belong in the Arctic, not in zoos or glass boxes in aquariums ? and certainly not in hotels, said PETA Asia's Vice President Jason Baker.
In the wild, polar bears usually roam territories that can span thousands of miles, Baker added.
Harbin is famous for its ice-carving festival, and the hotel resembles a giant igloo, with its roof topped by artificial ice. But some Chinese social media users expressed unease at the theme being taken to this extreme.
A panoramic prison for polar bears... haven't we learned anything about animal cruelty? one commentator said.
Gaps in China's wildlife protection law allows businesses to exploit animals without any concern for their welfare, a spokesman for China Animal Protection Network, who declined to be named, told AFP.
Chinese authorities recently changed the law to ban the consumption of wildlife for food, after speculation over the origins of the coronavirus nudged investigators towards a Wuhan market selling animals.
But the use of parts of endangered species in traditional medicine remains rampant, and Chinese circuses and zoos are often criticised for poor standards in animal housing and care.