AmanrollsdownhiscarwindowtofeedablackbearintheBadalingWildlifeParkinBeijingonAug18,ignoringrulesandwarningsfromstaffmembers.Hewasbittenbythebear.[PhotoprovidedforChinaDaily]
Wildlifeparksshouldhaveroadsthatallowvisitorstodrivetheirownvehiclesandavoidcontactwithwildanimals,accordingtoaseriesofdraftguidelinestoprotecttouristsinBeijing’swildlifeparks.
“Theroadsshouldbebuiltwithnetsorglasswallstoensurethattourists’vehiclesavoidcontactwithwildanimals,”saidthedraftguidelines,whichwerereleasedbytheBeijingmunicipalAdministrationofQualityandTechnologySupervisionforpubliccomment.
Theguidelinesalsostipulatethattouristsshouldnotgetoutoftheirvehicles,andtheyshouldleavesightseeingareasbeforethetimerequiredbytheparks.
“Animalsshouldbedividedintodifferentareas,withfences,electrifiednetsorsolidwallserectedtoseparatetouristsfromanimals,”theguidelinessaid.“Parksmustfullyinformtouristsofthepossibledangersandsafetymeasuresbysettingupbillboardsorwarningsigns.”
Beforethedraftguidelineswerereleased,anumberofincidentsoftouristsbeinginjuredorkilledbyanimalsinwildlifeparksmadetheheadlines,triggeringdiscussionsonhowtoraiseawarenessofsafetyandfindbetterwaystoprotecttourists.
InJulylastyear,twofemaletouristslefttheircarinBeijing’sBadalingWildlifePark.OnewaskilledbyaSiberiantigerandtheotherwasseriouslyinjured.
OnAug18,amaletouristintheparkwasbittenonthearmbyablackbearafterheignoredwarningsfromstaffmembersandrolleddownhiscarwindowtofeedtheanimals.
XieYan,aresearcherattheInstituteofZoologyoftheChineseAcademyofSciences,saidmostwildlifeparksinChinadonotrepresentapurelywildstate,andthefrequentreportsofincidentsarisefromtourists’behavior.
“Theactoffeedinganimalsdefinitelyaddstothepossibilityoftouristsbeingattacked,”shesaid,addingthatoneofthebestwaystoreducesuchincidentsistoeliminatecontactbetweenanimalsandtourists.
Thedraftguidelineswereseenasaneffortinthatdirection.Theyalsosaidanimalsinparksshouldbegradedonthebasisoftheirferocityandthatsomeshouldbekeptincages.
Inareaswhereferociousanimalsarekept,thereshouldbestaffmembersonduty24hoursaday,withpatrolseverytwohours,tofindandreportdangeroussituations,theguidelinessaid.
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