China News Service, Beijing, November 16th (Wei Xianghui) Recently, Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo has caused heated discussions due to the live broadcast of fundraising on the online platform and the opening of "cloud adoption".

Some people believe that the zoo's move is related to the difficulties in revenue under the epidemic.

　　In fact, in recent years, a number of zoos have tried to transform themselves into the Internet. Experts said that investing most of the income from adoption and live broadcasting into zoo management and construction is beneficial to animal protection, but the regulatory issues behind this are also worthy of attention. .

Data map: Tourists visit the zoo (picture and text have nothing to do) Photo by Ni Li

Many zoos have seen their income drop sharply due to the epidemic

　　According to the latest information on the "Let It Go Wild" project launched by Hongshan Forest Zoo on the Douyin platform, Hongshan Forest Zoo has completed the live broadcast fundraising goal of 2.64 million yuan, and the number of donations reached 180,019.

　　Hongshan Forest Zoo is a self-supporting public welfare unit.

The introduction of the "Let It Go Wild" project mentioned, "As a self-supporting non-profit organization, over the past two years, Hongshan has had to face the gap between the income bottleneck and the improvement of animal welfare under the restrictions on personnel mobility. unbalanced reality.”

　　In addition to live broadcasting to raise funds, Hongshan Forest Zoo also launched a small program "Cloud Adoption" activity last year. The public paid a certain fee and signed an adoption agreement with the zoo, and then watched the small animals they adopted through live broadcasting and other forms.

Many netizens believe that this is also related to the operating difficulties of Hongshan Forest Zoo.

　　The epidemic has indeed dealt a "heavy blow" to the zoo.

According to the news released on the official website of the China Association of Zoological Gardens in July this year, the 2022 meeting of the Management Working Committee of the association revealed that the status of zoos reported by the cooperation areas of the association showed that during the epidemic period, zoo closures and management occurred from time to time. Some zoos have taken measures to close their parks, some for as long as 120 days. "Many zoos have lost 50%-70% of their annual income."

A screenshot of the live broadcast of Hongshan Forest Zoo.

Can "touching the net" help you get out of trouble?

　　Hongshan Forest Zoo is an earlier zoo in China that came into contact with online platforms, and many of its business ideas often attract the attention of the outside world.

According to reports, in 2018, Hongshan Forest Zoo began to test the water live broadcast on various platforms.

In addition, Hongshan Forest Zoo has also created a Zoo mall and put peripheral products on the shelves.

　　According to media reports, in the past two years, Nantong Forest Wildlife Park, Xining Wildlife Park, Qingdao Forest Wildlife Park and many other zoos have been trying to "touch the Internet" transformation, promoting adoption and other activities on social media.

　　Qingdao Forest Safari Park will launch an animal adoption activity in 2020.

Li Huanbin, director of the planning department, told the media that the average fee for adopting small animals is 1 yuan a day, and the adoption fee for large animals is 1,000 yuan a year.

However, during the closure period in 2020, the zoo lost more than 10 million yuan.

In contrast, the adoption fee is far from covering the operating costs of the zoo.

　　Yang Zhaoxia, director of the Ecological Law Research Center of Beijing Forestry University, told Chinanews.com that this issue should be taken seriously by the society and relevant departments.

Li Huanbin once admitted to the media that the normal operation of the zoo would not be possible without the support of the higher authorities, the Forestry Bureau, the Culture and Tourism Bureau, and the local government.

However, he also said that adoption is more important to play a role in popular science education.

　　In fact, as early as 2010, the "Opinions on Further Strengthening Zoo Management" issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development clearly mentioned that all sectors of society should be actively guided to support the development of zoos through donations and adoptions.

In addition, the opinion also pointed out that governments at all levels should not regard zoos as "financial burdens", and should provide sufficient guarantees in terms of funds, institutions, and policies.

Data map: Snow leopards in the safari park (picture and text have nothing to do) Photo by Ma Mingyan

Expert: The use of fundraising amount should be made public

　　Chen Juanli, director of the Animal Protection Law Research Center of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, told Chinanews.com that adopting offline or online does not mean handing over the ownership of animals to tourists, but a contractual behavior that can be analyzed from the perspective of contract law. Whether the adoption content is legal.

Under this premise, when zoos set up adoption projects, they should comply with the "Wild Animal Protection Law".

For live broadcasting of animals, it should also be carried out in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the network platform.

　　"If most of the income from adoption and live broadcasting is invested in the management and construction of the zoo, it will be beneficial to animal protection." Chen Juanli introduced that from a legal point of view, animals in zoos are recreational animals. The content of this part of the law has been under discussion.

She said that after the introduction of relevant legislation, the zoo management regulations will be further improved.

　　Yang Zhaoxia said that relevant departments should verify whether the zoo is really experiencing operational difficulties and whether financial subsidies are in place.

He mentioned that from a legal point of view, the amount and use of animal adoption and live broadcast should be made public.

　　Regarding the zoos that open live webcasts, Yang Zhaoxia believes that the wildlife protection management department can supervise these zoos in a unified manner, such as issuing relevant permits and increasing filings.

"A long-term and stable mechanism should be formed." He said.

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