Zoo's decision to taxidermy dead Siberian tiger ignites activist furor

Seoul Grand Park has come under fire from animal welfare activists over a recent decision to taxidermy its dead Siberian tiger, Taebaek. Born in May 2018 in a litter of five, Taebaek was a fan favorite at the park.

The Siberian tiger Taebaek plays with a plastic ball on the ground inside Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Seoul Grand Park has come under fire from animal welfare activists over a recent decision to taxidermy its dead Siberian tiger, Taebaek.

Born in May 2018 in a litter of five, Taebaek was a fan favorite at the park.

However, the tiger developed biliary system and liver problems in February. It started to eat and move less and died in April, despite the park's efforts to treat the animal.

The park chose to make Taebaek a taxidermied animal based on the Act on Preservation and Utilization of Natural Heritage and the Wildlife Protection and Management Act.

The decision prompted animal welfare advocacy groups to stage protests, urging the zoo to cancel its decision.

Calling on the park to let Taebaek "rest in peace,” the groups argued that AI-generated visual content would serve just as well as a taxidermied animal.

However, the zoo counter-argued that taxidermy was critical for preserving the genetic information of the endangered Siberian Tiger for future generations. Taxidermied animals are “irreplaceable,” it said.

Skin and fur on stuffed and mounted animal specimens carry genetic data that cannot be stored as digital content.

Rising awareness of animal welfare often burdens zoos and their employees, presenting them with ethical dilemmas and making them unsure of treatment options.

Approximately 40 protesters demand the cancellation of a decision to make Taebaek a taxidermy specimen on May 19 in front of Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi. [PENZA]

Activism by animal welfare activists even limits treatment options for ill animals.

According to a report from the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday, Seoul Grand Park recently decided to administer euthanasia to a brown bear that couldn't walk due to degenerative arthritis.

The zoo said the decision was made after much contemplation and that foreign zoos "would have made the same decision years ago with an animal in such a condition.”

The park only provides defensive treatment — the medical practice of minimizing human intervention in the animals’ lives — to animals suffering from epilepsy.

An employee at Seoul Grand Park said zoo keepers are “in distress” because they must simultaneously manage the “emotional loss coming from the death of animals under their care and verbal attacks” coming from animal welfare activists.

Korean zoos are not alone in their trouble with animal welfare groups.

The polar bear Knut was turned into a taxidermy specimen at the Natural History Museum in Berlin, Germany. [MUSEUM FUR NATURKUNDE]

A polar bear named Knut, born prematurely in 2006 in Germany’s Berlin Zoological Garden, was raised by zoo keepers after its mother rejected him at birth. Zookeepers raised him, and his story captivated international fans until he died of encephalitis, a brain disease, at the age of four.

Knut’s body was transferred to the Natural History Museum in Berlin. Later, the authorities decided to make him a taxidermy specimen for educational and exhibition-related purposes.

Although the museum received anger from petitioners who demanded the cancellation of Knut's taxidermy, it dismissed their calls by saying the bear's taxidermied body allowed people to see the zoo's late star.

Knut is currently on display at the museum's Highlights of Taxidermy exhibit.

BY LEE SOO-KI, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]