Latest news with #Reanne
Toronto Sun
5 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Chinese hotel under fire for using red pandas as wakeup service
A hotel in China is facing backlash for using endangered red pandas to wake up guests. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a resort in Chongqing, is facing criticism from safety and animal rights groups over the animals climbing onto guests' beds in the unique wakeup service. A staff member lead the animal up to the guest rooms, and visitors can interact with them for a few minutes before the panda is led away. British content creators Reanne and Ben shared their panda experience on their YouTube channel On Tour With Dridgers from their visit to the resort in April. The video first shows the red panda in a tree in a small courtyard before it wanders down the hallway to the couple's room, following a staff member. It then joins Reanne on the bed, where she pets the panda while it eats appear from her hand. 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've got a panda on my bed,' she says. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Red panda eating out of womans hand on hotel room bed. (YouTube) Photo by On Tour With Dridgers / YouTube Despite the popularity of the service, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau has reportedly asked the hotel to immediately cease all close contact activities between the pandas and visitors. The resort has four red pandas which take turns in the room visits, the U.K. Times reported. Rooms that feature the special service were priced at around 2,000 yuan (about $383) per night and were in high demand, according to the outlet. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Despite the popularity, critics of the experience say the pandas could be subjected to injury or get a disease from their interaction with humans. The hotel, however, defended the interactive sessions, according to the outlet, adding that the red pandas, which are borrowed from a zoo, have been vaccinated and are cared for by dedicated staffers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang also said that young children should always be accompanied by an adult during the room visits. Read More Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection organization, told the Global Times that red pandas are a protected wild species in China and should not be kept as pets or for tourism-related entertainment. He added that the pandas are naturally sensitive animals, and being forced to interact with guests could trigger a stress response. The Chongqing Forestry Bureau has reportedly asked the hotel to immediately cease all close contact activities between the pandas and visitors while they conduct an on-site investigation. Toronto & GTA Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Blue Jays NBA Toronto & GTA
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Hotel told ‘world's cutest wake-up service' is cruel and must stop
Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a popular family resort in Chongqing, has become a huge viral hit in China thanks to its red panda wake-up service, that is now attracting heat A Chinese hotel has been told it must stop waking guests up with red pandas. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a popular family resort in Chongqing, currently offers guests the chance to be awakened by the russet-tinted mammals. Many guests are attracted to the hotel solely for its red panda wake-up experience, which involves one of the fluffy animals being led into a guest's bedroom in the morning. The animal is then allowed to walk around the room freely and climb onto the duvet-covered bed if it wishes. The service has become a hit online, earning the title "the world's cutest wake-up service." One British couple, Reanne and Ben, documented the experience on their YouTube channel On Tour With Dridgers. In their video, the red panda can be seen wandering along the hotel corridor with a staff member, entering the room, chomping a chunk of apple, and then climbing onto the couple's bed. The seemingly friendly and relaxed panda allows the duo to stroke it while eating apple from their hands. Now, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau has asked the hotel to stop all activities that allow contact between guests and red pandas. It has sent a team to the hotel to conduct an on-site investigation and said it will release the results of this visit soon. While the nature of the Forestry Bureau's concerns is not currently clear, the attraction has long attracted criticism online from those who warn it could lead to injury of both animal and human, as well as the transmission of diseases. The general welfare of the pandas is also a concern. The hotel said that the red pandas are borrowed from a zoo, have been vaccinated, and are cared for by dedicated staff. They told China Newsweek that four red pandas are kept on-site and are on a rota for guest visits. Sun Quanhui, a scientist from the World Animal Protection organisation, told the Global Times that red pandas are a nationally protected wild species. Sun said that they should not be kept as pets or used for tourism-related entertainment, warning that their sensitive natures could lead them to become stressed in such an environment.
