Beijing drafts strict rules for wildlife parks

A male visitor was bitten on the arm by a black bear when he rolled down his car window to feed one of the animals at Beijing Badaling Wildlife World on Aug 18. [Photo from Sina Weibo]

Beijing's authorities are seeking public feedback on strict draft rules for wildlife parks, in the wake of several accidents at the capital's safari zoos.

Under the draft standards, wildlife parks in the city would be required to set special routes for visitor vehicles to drive on which would be lined with railings or toughened glass walls, dividing tourists from animals.

There must not be any possibility that a visitor car can have direct contact with a wild animal, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Different types of animals should be confined to particular zones by fences, electricity nets or solid walls, according to the draft released by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision.

The regulations also gave more detailed instructions on guided, self-guided vehicle tours, feeding policies and safety warnings.

The authorities decided to release the rules after a series of tourist injuries or deaths invoked heated discussion on social media in the past few years.

The latest example happened at Beijing Badaling Wildlife World on Aug 18. A male visitor was bitten on the arm by a black bear when he ignored park warnings and rolled down his car window to feed one of the animals in the park, located at northwestern suburb of Beijing. Luckily, he survived with minor injuries.

However, an old woman involved in another incident was not so fortunate. The 57-year-old woman was killed by a Siberian tiger and her daughter seriously injured after they jumped out of a car at the same zoo in July 2016. They thought they had left the tiger enclosure, according to reports at that time.

They are not the only safety breaches at the zoo.

In 2009, three young men who were on an outing at the Great Wall decided to take a shortcut home and hopped the park's fence. An 18-year-old was killed by a tiger.

On Feb 27 this year, a car drove through a bear zone and the car was attacked by a bear. No one in the car was injured.

In July 22 this year, a video circulated on Chinese social media showing a bear in the park trying to reach into a car through a driver's-side open window.

Experts said self-guided vehicle tours in wildlife parks should be prohibited to avoid tragedy. There are also voices saying park management is to be blamed. But as some internet users in China see it, the fault is with the badly-behaved visitors: why don't they comply with parks' safety warnings?