BEIJING: Legal experts agree that visitors to scientific research bases who behave in an uncivilized way should be penalized, but suggest a more prudent approach be adopted when considering the imposition of lifetime bans.
Ten people were permanently barred from a giant panda sanctuary in Sichuan province recently for improper acts involving the much-loved national treasures.
Details of the breaches, including throwing items such as candy bars, eggs or cigarettes at pandas and spitting on them, were disclosed by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on its WeChat account on Monday.
One 54-year-old man, surnamed He, was banned from visiting the sanctuary for life after he was found to have thrown cigarettes into the outdoor panda enclosure on May 1, the base said.
A permanent ban was also given to a 39-year-old tourist surnamed Lyu on Saturday after she allowed her child to throw bread at the pandas during a visit.
Staff members immediately removed the items before any harm could occur, “but considering the tourists’ behaviors might have caused serious damage to the pandas, we’ve given them a lifetime ban from entering the area,” the base said.
Zhu Wei, deputy head of the Communication Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, said he understood the punishments meted out by the panda sanctuary. “Improperly feeding animals, especially precious wildlife, is dangerous for both the animals and visitors,” he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
