Zoos should always bear in mind pandas are an endangered species
The China Wildlife Conservation Association announced on Thursday that they had sent an official letter to Everland Resort, a zoo based in the Republic of Korea, requesting that they stop allowing non-professionals to touch the pandas.
It sent the letter after seeing an online teaser for an entertainment show in which members of the group Blackpink touched the adult giant pandas, Ai Bao and Le Bao, that are on loan from China, and their 3-month-old cub, Fu Bao.
Although the Blackpink members wore face masks, protective gowns and gloves, the teaser angered many netizens because there was still a risk of transmitting zoonotic infections as some of the members own pet dogs and cats.
Some drew attention to an incident in 2015 where four giant pandas died at a breeding center in Sichuan after contracting the canine distemper virus which is commonly associated with wild and domesticated dogs.
That is why it has long been a rule that no one except qualified handlers and veterinarians are allowed to touch pandas, and even these professionals have to undergo quarantine procedures to make sure they do not carry any bacteria or viruses that might harm the panda.
In statements issued on Saturday, Blackpink and Everland Resort announced the decision not to broadcast the whole episode of the show because their actions might cause misunderstanding. They also stressed that the band members were wearing protective suits and had been sanitized before touching the pandas.
It is good that they have recognized what they did was wrong, even if they had taken precautions.
The discussions of Chinese social network users helped in this, because they noticed the wrongdoing of the zoo and the stars involved first and put a lot of pressure on them.
Pandas are an endangered species and there are only a few pandas housed overseas. If any one of them gets ill, or worse dies, that would be a tragedy. Hope all other overseas zoos where pandas reside take note of this incident.