- Hotel in China offers a wake-up service with lion cubs in 20 rooms at 628 yuan per night
- The lion cub interaction lasts about seven minutes daily from 8 am to 10 am under staff supervision
- Guests must sign an Asiatic Lion Wake-Up Service Agreement before experiencing the cub wake-up call
A hotel in China has become the centre of discussion online after it introduced a special wake-up service that lets guests play with a lion cub inside their room, reported by Jimu News.
The resort offers this special service in 20 of its rooms, priced at 628 yuan (Rs 7,804) per night. The lion cub wake-up call is available daily from 8 am to 10 am and lasts approximately seven minutes each time.
To book this experience, guests must sign an Asiatic Lion Wake-Up Service Agreement. The hotel states that the cub is always under the supervision of an employee, and guests are advised to exercise caution when interacting with it.
On November 11, an article in the Beijing Youth Daily criticised the service, calling it a "wrong move." The report questioned whether sending the cub into a room for a short period could constitute animal display. It also raised concerns about the cub's safety and the potential for violations of its rights.
A similar incident occurred in June when a hotel in Chongqing introduced a red panda wake-up service. As soon as the incident went viral, the local forest department immediately shut it down, citing violations of the Wild Animal Protection Law. Red pandas are a second-class protected species in China, while lions and tigers are first-class.
