Visitors at the Yunnan Wild Animal Park reportedly hugged and even plucked feathers from one or two of the zoo’s peacocks. At least one eventually died.
On Feb. 21, Chinese media began to report that photos of mistreated peacocks were circulating online, as reported by Hong Kong media Oriental Net. The incident took place at Yunnan Wild Animal Park on Feb. 12, which was during the Lunar Chinese New Year.
In the photos, a Chinese man roughly holds up a peacock while a girl strokes the animal’s head. They stand before another tourist who takes pictures of them with her cellphone. In another photo, a man stands for a photo-op also with a peacock in his hands. According to the online posts, tourists plucked the feathers while coming in close contact with the animals.
An official with the zoo confirmed that one peacock did die suddenly after tourists roughly held the animal, but the actual cause of the death would require further investigation.
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Frank Fang
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Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers U.S., China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
Peacock Dies at Chinese Zoo After Being Roughly Handled for Selfies
Visitors at the Yunnan Wild Animal Park reportedly hugged and even plucked feathers from one or two of the zoo’s peacocks. At least one eventually died.
On Feb. 21, Chinese media began to report that photos of mistreated peacocks were circulating online, as reported by Hong Kong media Oriental Net. The incident took place at Yunnan Wild Animal Park on Feb. 12, which was during the Lunar Chinese New Year.
In the photos, a Chinese man roughly holds up a peacock while a girl strokes the animal’s head. They stand before another tourist who takes pictures of them with her cellphone. In another photo, a man stands for a photo-op also with a peacock in his hands. According to the online posts, tourists plucked the feathers while coming in close contact with the animals.
An official with the zoo confirmed that one peacock did die suddenly after tourists roughly held the animal, but the actual cause of the death would require further investigation.
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