Intern of this newspaper Chu Xiyun Our reporter Bao Yafei Wen/photo
During the long vacation, it was supposed to be a laughing ocean park, but it inadvertently became the center of the topic-a Weibo with hundreds of words, which made Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park be pushed to the forefront.
Maybe you have seen it. On September 26th, Weibo, a netizen @ Walking with Elephants, asked "Who can save the spotted seal": The seal house in Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park is the seal hell! Living in the stench, they have lost all the hair on their faces, serious eye infections, cataracts, some breathing difficulties and many diseases! Later, it was added that only 10 of the 19 spotted seals that had been exhibited in the Polar Ocean Park were left.
In many photos published by netizens, the spotted seals are in a miserable situation-some suffer from serious skin diseases (accompanied by ulceration), some have a lot of hair loss on their faces, nasal discharge and obvious cataracts in their eyes.
This Weibo, which is also named @ Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park, was forwarded thousands of times in just three or four days. There are also many well-known animal protection organizations such as "Hangzhou Animal Protection Volunteer Team" among many forwarders.
At that time, criticism and writing were everywhere. Is it true?/You don’t say. Is the living environment of spotted seals in Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park really so bad?
Yesterday, our reporter entered the Polar Ocean Park for investigation without the knowledge of the management, and tried to restore the truth of the incident-
There are only three spotted seals on display at the scene.
Most of them were transferred to the domestication area.
The silence on the official Weibo of Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park made netizens suspicious.
Yesterday, our reporter entered the Ocean Exhibition Hall as an ordinary tourist, and the damp and sultry weather that came upon us was somewhat unprepared. The "Seal House" in the forefront is on the second floor, occupying only a corner of the floor, with an area of no more than 50 square meters: the spotted seal is surrounded by a metal railing of 20 to 30 square meters, with a pool in the first half and a wooden platform 30 cm above the bottom of the pool in the second half.
The smell in the air is very heavy, mixed with the strong smell of excrement, which smells a little choking. The water in the pool is clear, but there are many foreign bodies in the water.
The reporter found that there were only three spotted seals left in yesterday’s performance-the pool water covered half of the "sheep sheep" (the name of the spotted seal), and the "engine" on the side seemed tired and unwilling to move more; Another spotted seal looks obviously "leopard" with a white foreign body in the center of the black eye-which is highly similar to the cataract photos exposed by netizens.
"It’s been a few days. I heard that it was reported online, and the seal moved to the first floor below." A cleaner said that there were more than a dozen spotted seals in the exhibition area, and now the remaining three are in relatively healthy health.
"One eye is not very good, but tourists can’t see it." She said that at least half of the seals were sick, some lost their fur, and some had pus every day, which was very smelly. "Someone treated it, but it seems that it has never recovered."
The "first floor" mentioned by the cleaners refers to the seal domestication area, which is humid and has a strong smell. There are two pools of about 6×3×1.5 meters and a platform of about 60 square meters, where more than ten seals gather, including the sick seals photographed by the netizen @ Walking with Elephant.
However, Qianbao reporter didn’t see the dying spotted seal here. Many employees of the management are also very cautious, and they are almost the same to all questions: unclear.
The management admitted that many seals were sick.
But none of them died
The fact that can be confirmed by unannounced visits is that many seals are indeed sick, but is there any abuse of animals reported by netizens? Qianbao reporter contacted the management.
"After all, the artificial environment is different from the wild environment. It is true that some seals have injuries, but it does not mean that the seals in the park have a bad living environment, and there is no abuse of seals." Serina Liu, from the marketing department of Hangzhou Ocean Polar Park, said that the information exposed by netizens was partly true. After being exposed to the "abuse of seals" post, the company quickly launched a self-examination. "At present, the fishery administration has been involved, and we will actively cooperate with the investigation."
Liu Quansheng, director of animal domestication in Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park, responded to questions from netizens:
First, the living area of the spotted seal is provided with skylights, ventilation systems and air conditioning, and there is no abuse;
Secondly, seals not only eat well, but also eat well-three meals a day, with a total feeding of 2~3 kg/bird/day, and vitamin tablets will be added for breakfast. Setting up a tourist feeding session is only to strengthen interaction, and has nothing to do with "not enough to eat";
Third, the sick seal is currently being actively treated, and so far there has not been a death of a spotted seal.
In response to netizens’ concern about the living conditions of seals, Liu Quansheng also explained that about 30% of spotted seals have been infected with fungi since May this year, which is related to factors such as short sun exposure time (the temperature exceeds 26 degrees, seals can’t bask in the sun for a long time) and humid air. Since then, they have been treating, and many seals’ skin diseases have improved. As for cataracts, nasal discharge and other phenomena are related to many factors, such as fighting between seals can also be injured. "There are three spotted seals with serious skin diseases, and one of them has improved significantly."
Liu Quansheng introduced that there were 20 spotted seals in Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park at first (instead of 19 as netizens said), and then three seals were bred one after another. At present, all the 23 seals are still in the Polar Ocean Park.
The park promised to actively treat it.
Fishery departments will conduct random checks.
"We have given rectification opinions." Zhou Zhongfeng, the person in charge of aquatic animals and plants supervision at Xiaoshan District Fishery Management Station in Hangzhou, said that the netizen’s Weibo attracted great attention from the provincial and municipal fishery administrations. On September 28th, the provincial and municipal third-level fishery administrations conducted a field investigation on Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park. There are three main suggestions for rectification: to solve the problem of high density of seal areas, to strengthen professional treatment of sick seals, and to put forward a long-term rectification plan in writing.
He said that in addition to skin diseases, they also confirmed that some seals have cataracts, but it is certain that there is no animal cruelty in the park. "On October 8, we will check the progress of rectification on the spot, and we will also conduct irregular spot checks on the park in the future."
To treat seals, Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park has also made plans and commitments:
First, isolate sick seals from healthy seals; Second, treat with oral and external drugs, and expand the sunshine space; Third, cancel the interactive link of tourists feeding food; Fourth, display seals in batches to reduce the density of seals in the visit area; Fifth, the living environment management of seals should be refined, and 24-hour disease monitoring should be carried out.
"Visitors are welcome to supervise, and we will also inform the treatment and recovery of seals in time."
