The Grandview Aquarium in Guangzhou, China, opened the doors to its animal prison on January 9, 2016, and has already been called "one of the saddest zoos in the world" because the animals there suffer from neglect, poor care, lack of stimulation, and lack of natural light. The zoo is located in a shopping mall.
The aquarium displays 500 species—including two polar bears, five walrus calves, six young beluga whales, and two Arctic wolves—in barren enclosures that are too small for them to engage in natural behavior.
Spectators have reported that animals display symptoms of zoochosis. The walrus calves and beluga whales have been observed swimming in circles in their small tanks, and the bears, Arctic wolves, and foxes pace back and forth excessively and scratch at the walls. Many captive animals develop such neurotic and abnormal behavior as the result of literally being driven crazy by their confinement. Captive marine animals often die years earlier than their natural life spans from a wide variety of causes, including living in contaminated water, which might have caused the death of a grouper who was found dead inside a tank.
The Grandview Aquarium, like all aquariums, is part of a billion-dollar industry built on the suffering of intelligent, social beings who are denied everything that is natural and important to them. Many Chinese citizens have spoken out against the animals' living conditions at the zoo, and a WeChat post about the appalling facility has gone viral. However, we need to raise more awareness to help put a stop to this cruel "attraction."
Your help is urgently needed!
Please sign our petition asking Cui Tiankai, ambassador of China to the U.S., to use his influence to close the Grandview Aquarium and ensure the welfare of the animals who are imprisoned there.