Ostensibly, the zookeepers at the Chengdu Research Base (CRB) in Chengdu love pandas. It’s their bread and butter. They make millions of dollars a year off visitors making their way to the world's foremost panda breeding facility.
But surveillance footage that surfaced last month has panda lovers around the world questioning just how well the animals they claim to love are treated. The video appeared to show a caretaker physically abusing two of the panda cubs.
In the video you see the worker grab, shove, drag and even throw the two cubs - Rourou and Manman - as the man moves about their enclosure.
The man claims that the two cubs tried to bite him, but that doesn’t condone animal abuse. Administrators have since asked their workers to treat the animals more “gently” in these cases however that isn’t enough. The CRB needs to implement strict guidelines and regulations to ensure that their pandas are treated with the respect they deserve, and workers that don’t follow them should be let go. It’s as simple as that.
With a little over 2,000 pandas remaining in the wild it is up to all of us to make sure that the species prospers. Sign the petition and ask CRB to protect its animals from abuse not just with a request, but with rules and regulations.
