A restaurant in northern China has been criticised by animal welfare groups for offering an unusual item on the menu: lion cub cuddles.<\/p>\n
According to a screenshot of a menu circulating on social media, Wanhui \u2013 a restaurant in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province \u2013 has a four-course set afternoon menu costing 1,192 yuan ($166\/\u00a3124) that includes playtime with the in-house animals.<\/p>\n
The restaurant\u2019s profile on Dazhong Dianping, a popular restaurant listings app, shows pictures of the lion cubs alongside other animals, such as deer and alligators.<\/p>\n
The menu on the Dianping page does not include lions in its list of animals but says customers can play with llamas, turtles and meerkats.<\/p>\n
Several photos show customers snuggling the baby lions.<\/p>\n
In one review posted this month, a customer sits with a lion cub on her lap, holding the its paw to wave to the camera.<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s review reads: \u201cI can pet a cute little lion in a small shop! It\u2019s called Simba, and looks so good. There are staff to guide you, so you don\u2019t have to worry about safety issues!\u201d<\/p>\n
While some influencers have jumped at the chance to post eye-catching photographs on social media, the reaction of Chinese people online has been mostly negative. \u201cThey\u2019re putting profit above consumer safety \u2013 it\u2019s way too dangerous,\u201d wrote one Weibo user.<\/p>\n
Chinese media reported that the Shanxi forestry and grasslands bureau was investigating the matter, adding that this kind of human-animal contact was prohibited.<\/p>\n
Peter Li, a China policy expert for Humane World for Animals, told Reuters: \u201cExploiting wild animals for selfies and marketing gimmicks is not only appallingly bad animal welfare, it\u2019s also potentially risky for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is not the first exotic animal welfare scandal in China. Last month, tourists visiting a zoo in Liaoning, in the north-east, were condemned for reaching through a metal grate to pull tufts of hair off a tiger.<\/p>\n
A hotel in Chongqing, a city in south-west China, recently attracted scorn for offering a \u201cwake-up service\u201d delivered by red pandas, which could climb into guests\u2019 beds.<\/p>\n
Contact between humans and exotic animals has also been highlighted by experts as a potential risk for the spread of zoonotic diseases, such as Covid-19.<\/p>\n
Staff at Wanhui repeatedly hung up the phone when called by the Guardian.<\/p>\n
According to Reuters, the restaurant said the lion cubs were well cared for by specialist staff.<\/p>\n