Suffering for Selfies

Usually when you think about selfies, what comes to mind is fun, funny, beautiful pictures of yourself, your friends, your family etc. Nobody would actually think about it as a form of suffering. Sadly, this is what it is for the polar bear in a shopping center in China.

Even sadder is the fact that the polar bear is not alone, he is just one of a number of animals stuck within the Grandview shopping centre in Guangzhou. There are six young belugas, five walrus calves, a wolf and arctic foxes. The media calls it "The World's Saddest Zoo":

Pressure increases on “World’s Saddest Zoo” after Animals Asia report


Animals Asia, an organization for animal welfare founded in 1998 has launched a petition to help save these abused animals.

Animals Asia Animal Welfare Director Dave Neale said:

“There is no excuse for any animal to be trapped this way but it’s widely believed that polar bears are one of the hardest of all animals to effectively provide for in captivity. Polar bears often exhibit ‘stereotypic’ behavior as captivity restricts their natural instincts such as the need to forage.

Polar bears require huge amounts of space. Large enough for them to walk, run, climb and hunt. The list of what they need is very long - to a point whereby you can only really answer that what a polar bear really ‘needs’ is to be free to live life in the wild.

This bear has no peace and nothing natural to take comfort in.  What’s more information on how best to try to meet the complex physical and behavioral needs of captive polar bears is freely available and yet this animal has been willfully incarcerated in this way.

We are calling on the Chinese public not to attend this attraction. We are calling for it to be closed down. This is a bear that suffers for what? For selfies? For shopping?

Controversy has continued to dog the Grandview aquarium. Amid numerous critical reports it has been claimed that Guangzhou Ocean and Fishery Bureau is investigating the facility following rumors that animals died or were hurt when being moved into the aquarium.

Meanwhile Chinese social media posts have suggested unconfirmed deaths and subsequent replacement of animals. It is also believed that there is little or no on-site vet care."


It is understandable that people like seeing wild animals in real life, as close as you can get to them, but is it really worth the suffering these animals are going through? Is a selfie really worth abusing these animals? Letting them live in desperation till they finally die? I don't think so. Hopefully you don't too.

We can stop this abuse. The more people speak up against it the more attention will this situation create and then things will start to change. Here is the link for the petition from Animals Asia:

Today Animals Asia asks you to add your voice to close Grandview Aquarium

Please sign and share this petition with friends and family. We can save these beautiful animals and stop their suffering.



For more information about Animals Asia, what they do and other actions they organize and you can take go visit their official site: Animals Asia.