A restaurant in China’s Shanxi province is facing growing public scrutiny after introducing an afternoon tea experience that allows diners to cuddle lion cubs as part of a four-course set, raising serious concerns about animal welfare and legality.Images and video clips posted on Chinese social media platforms show customers at the Wanhui restaurant in Taiyuan city cradling lion cubs in their arms. The footage sparked widespread online criticism and renewed debate over the treatment of animals in commercial settings.
The Wanhui restaurant, which opened in June feature exotic animals including llamas, turtles and deer, alongside the lion cubs. According to Shanghai Daily, the restaurant sells approximately 20 tickets a day for the experience, bundled with a four-course afternoon tea menu priced at $150. “The service has raised serious concerns about legality and animal welfare,” the Shanghai Daily stated on its WeChat page, Reuters reported.
Also read | India’s culinary heritage needs to showcased on global stage, says tourism ministry at launch of young chef competition
The restaurant’s service sparked backlash online, with many users raising concern for the welfare of the animals . One user called for regulatory action, saying, “The relevant departments should take care of it.”The controversy follows a similar incident in June, when authorities launched an investigation into a hotel in Chongqing that offered guests a “wake-up service” involving red pandas. The animals were reportedly allowed to climb onto guests’ beds in what was marketed as a novel experience.Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese toured a panda breeding facility in the final stages of an extended state visit to China that has cast beijing as a fellow champion of a global fair trade system under threat from the US.Also read | What is non-veg milk and why it is the focus of India-US trade dealThe panda diplomacy stop in the central Chinese city of Chengdu highlighted Australia’s special status as the only Southern Hemisphere country to host a pair of the rare Chinese native animals.Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon visited a pen where they saw Fu Ni, a giant panda who had been on loan to Australia’s Adelaide Zoo until last year. “A great ambassador for China and a great friend of Australia,” Albanese said of Fu Ni as she chomped on bamboo.(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
