January 27, 2022, 02:11 PM
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A hotel in Jiangsu, China, recently came under fire for offering guests outlandish "beast rooms" with an up-close and personal view of tigers in their exhibit.
View of tiger
The Sendi Tribe Treehouse Hotel, located inside the Nantong Forest Safari Park, had planned to offer four of such suites as part of its Year of the Tiger experience.
One wall in the suite features a large glass panel looking into the tiger exhibit next door. The glass is apparently explosion-proof to ensure guests' safety, Yahoo reported.
A video by Jimu News giving a tour of the suite showed a white tiger pacing back and forth in its exhibit in front of the glass.
Repetitive pacing in captive animals is not a good sign — it could be an indicator that the animal unstimulated, or cooped up in too small an area.
According to South China Morning Post, a hotel employee previously shared that the four rooms have been prepared but are not open to the public yet.Backlash
Since the video was posted online, public backlash has been swift.
Global Times reported that many Weibo users expressed sympathy towards the tiger, criticising the park from profiting off the animals' misery.
Others expressed concern for the safety of guests.
"Both the tiger and I wouldn't be able to fall asleep, as it probably wants to eat me and I will be thinking about being eaten," one netizen wrote.
Another netizen asked: "What is the difference between this and an animal show?"
Some also said that the park is "maltreating the tiger".
Hotel ordered to close rooms
According to The Times, Chinese authorities subsequently ordered the hotel to close the "beast rooms" to protect the animals' welfare.
Although guests might be safe behind the thick glass window, the design of the rooms was said to lack consideration for the tiger.
Instead, there should have been further evaluation on whether the design is soundproof enough to ensure the animal's welfare — one-way glass could have been used to reduce the disturbances to the animals.
The park already has similar experiences, such as a tiger-themed restaurant where guests can view the large cat in its exhibit while eating.
Top photo from Jimu News / Weibo and CHINA LIVE 直播中国 / YouTube
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