It is considered inhumane by some and they argue that not only are humans destroying their natural habitats but also taking them freedom and locking them up in cages. They should have the same rights for life and freedom as human beings do.
It seems a zoo in China has found a way to avoid all these controversial factors surrounding zoos but still keep the elements of entertainment and arguably, far better than most other zoos in the world. The question on everyone's mind now is how is all this possible?
The Zoo
The Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo is located in China and it's not a regular zoo. Instead of locking up the animals, it locks up its visitors and lets its animals such as the big cats or bears roam free and come up to the cages humans instead of the traditional zoo which is the other way around. This design still allows visitors to get extremely close to the animals, arguably closer than they would otherwise be able to due to safety regulations, without having to watch them locked up in small cages, like in most other zoos in the world.
How does it work?
In a statement from the zoo, it seems the aim was to give their visitors the experience of being stalked and watched by the animals, without any of the risks of course. In order to attract the animals, chunks of meat are tied to the outside of the cages holding the humans and as they move along, the animals will follow and eat the food attached to the cage.
Even though the visitors are securely protected from being eaten within the cages there has been small openings built into the tops to allow them to hand-feed the exotic creatures from the safety of behind the fence. Of course, visitors are advised to keep their fingers and hands inside the cage at all times as a hungry animal won't know the difference between them and their breakfast
Negative Criticisms
The breathtaking photographs of lions and tigers jumping up at the cages have attracted quite a bit of media attention, not all of it is positive. Despite the zoo maintaining that is is completely safe and there is no possibility of anyone being harmed as long as they follow the rules and guidelines, there has been significant kickback from the public with many condemning it and calling it “an accident waiting to happen”.
Even with all these criticisms, the zoo has grown extremely popular, despite all the so called dangers. In fact, when the Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo was opened in 2015, the tickets were sold out for three months. It seems people prefer this experience of seeing the animals in their natural habitats and roaming free compared to the traditional zoo where they're trapped.
This is definitely a very interesting concept and something I personally would love to experience, despite the risks, it seems the zoo has taken many precautions to prevent accidents from happening. This is certainly one for the bucket list. What about you? Would you be prepared to go in with the lions and tigers who are looking for some lunch
