Sad Photos of Panda Eating Trash Thrown By Tourists Enrages the Internet

Chinese netizens are up in arms over the case of one particular panda at a government-owned zoo in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. The poor bear was photographed rummaging for food from the piles of garbage thrown by tourists inside its cage.

Images of the poor giant panda named “Shunshun,” which were posted and widely shared in Chinese social media, sparked online outrage with Weibo users expressing concern on the animal’s health and well-being.

Apparently, zookeepers failed to remove the usual junk that visitors dump into the panda’s enclosure. Discarded plastic bottles, wrappers and other garbage littered the panda’s surroundings, according to Weibo (via Shanghaiist).

A netizen blasted both zookeepers and tourists for the pitiful situation:

“The disgraceful tourists and the negligent staff are both just trash.”

The comment reflected the common sentiments of many Weibo users who expressed their opinion over the issue.

Taiyuan zoo later apologized and stated that they have cleaned up the panda’s cage following the outrage last week.

The giant panda was also reportedly placed under medical observation, and reported that it is currently in stable condition with no health issues.

The zoo also reasoned out for its defense that last week received an excessive number of tourists, around 34,000 visitors in total, on the particular day the photos were taken.