Some really cute animals have caused a lot of irritation for a popular Bangkok mall.
Animal rights activists and Thai netizens have blasted Seacon Square on Srinakarin Road for featuring wildlife including baby lions and tigers at its “Pet Planet: The Safari” show running through Saturday.
Such shows do nothing to promote the welfare of wildlife, Surapol Duangkhae of Wildlife Fund Thailand said, but instead perpetuate the vicious and illegal trade in animals.
“It just shows how pretty they appear,” Surapol said of the show, where visitors reportedly can feed milk to a baby lion cub. “Behind the scenes, wildlife exhibitions could turn into secret markets for selling exotic wild animals. So in a way, these shows could support the illegal trade of wildlife.”
Mall representatives however counter that their show is designed to promote education and awareness of environmental issues. Charun Poopat, Seacon vice president of marketing, said special care and supervision was provided for the animals, especially the little lions and tigers. Because they came from captivity in Kanchanaburi, he added, they would not be upset by human interaction and confinement.
The Thai Animal Guardians Association disagrees. Malls are no places for wild animals, said the association’s Roger Lohanan, because they are “stressed by the process of transportation, and by loud noises and crowds of onlookers.”
Seacon’s Facebook page has been inundated with calls to stop “torturing” the animals, the Bangkok Post reported.
