(ECNS) — Guangzhou's Grandview Aquarium said it's planning to expand its animal park and introduce another 8,000 animals including giant pandas to the mall where the facility is located, following the "world's saddest" polar bear scandal.
The expanded aquarium is to be about 5,905 square meters, less than a standard soccer field.
Other anmials to be raised there include white-palmed gibbons, white tigers, and pythons, all belonging to first-class national protected animals.
The aquarium refused Yorkshire Wildlife Park's proposal to let them move Pizza, as the polar bear is known, to their specially designed habitat after pressure group Animals Asia collected over half a million signatures on a petition demanding closure of the aquarium.
A person in charge at the facility said all its projects have passed scientific appraisal and that living environments would be improved.
The 150 million yuan ($22.5 million) aquarium has been at the center of controversy since it opened in January at a shopping mall. The polar bear was living in a space of less than 40 square meters with only a shallow pool of water and constant visitors taking photos or tapping on the glass.
An online survey of over 8,000 respondents found 95 percent rejected the aquarium's plans, with some calling it an "animal prison." Several experts also questioned the feasibility of the project and criticized the sacrifice of animal rights to commercial interest.
