Increasing Protests from Citizens Uncomfortable with Taxidermy
Seoul Grand Park sparked controversy after deciding to taxidermy the critically endangered Siberian tiger 'Taebaek,' who died on the 19th of last month. Some citizens are protesting, urging the cancellation of the taxidermy decision to respect the dignity of the animal. However, the park argued that taxidermy holds value as a record of natural history and as research material.
The announcement on Seoul Grand Park's website about Taebaek's death has sparked ongoing debates among netizens. Earlier, the park stated in the announcement on the 19th of last month, "Taebaek, born on May 2, 2018, as one of four siblings along with Baekdu, Halla, and Geumgang, has left us today."
Taebaek was a 6-year-old male Siberian tiger who had been in poor health since February and received medical treatment but ultimately passed away. Zoo tigers are generally known to live 15 to 20 years. Considering this, Taebaek died at a relatively young age.
The park stated, "We fully empathize with the wish for Taebaek to rest peacefully and forever be part of nature even after death," adding, "The specimen is a record of natural history and a national natural heritage, and we intend to create and preserve it as a specimen for future scientists' research." In other words, they plan to taxidermy the deceased Taebaek.
Some citizens expressed opposition to this. Responses included, "Turning a poor animal who died from illness into another spectacle," "Let it pass peacefully on its path," and "An extremely human-centered act." There were also opinions noting that the zoo already has specimens of four deceased tigers.
In particular, citizens expressed resentment by pointing out the successive deaths of Seoul Grand Park tigers before Taebaek. In February, the female Siberian tiger 'Areum' died, and in May and August of last year, the female 'Parang' and male 'Suho' died consecutively. Especially, Suho was found to have died from heart disease and heatstroke according to an epidemiological investigation.
At that time, the zoo urged, "We will carefully manage the health of all animals, including tigers, going forward," but concerns from animal lovers have not subsided. There are claims that it is too cruel to taxidermy animals that died due to neglect.
Meanwhile, this is not the first controversy over animal taxidermy. Initially, there was a plan to taxidermy Suho as well, but due to citizen opposition, the plan was changed to cremation instead. In 2018, a puma named 'Pporongi' that escaped from Daejeon O-World and was shot was also planned to be taxidermied, but the plan was scrapped due to public backlash.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
