Zookeepers caught dragging and shoving pandas

Quit roughing up pandas! Sign Now Dear friends, The footage was disturbing. Two zookeepers were caught on tape grabbing, shoving and dragging two giant panda cubs at the Chengdu Research Base (CRB), a big panda breeding facility in China. Since the video went viral, the zookeepers are trying to shift the blame to the pandas, Rourou and Manman, insisting they were only acting in self-defense after they bit them. They've repeated to news outlets that pandas can be aggressive, so their actions were commensurate. But that version of the story doesn't add up. Animal activists have questioned why the workers weren't wearing protective gear, like gloves, if they were so concerned about violent reactions from the animals. Either they weren't careful or they didn't know better. Neither of those excuses is a good enough reason to rough up a couple of young cubs. CRB has defended its zookeepers and released a statement saying it's asked them to treat pandas "more gently" in the future. But that's not enough. CRB is renowned as a gold standard for panda conservation. Trying to sweep this incident under the rug belies that reputation. We don't need excuses, we need concrete policy changes that will prevent a similar controversy from happening again. Sign the petition to ask CRB to protect its pandas with more than words. Thank you,   Emily V. The Care2 Petitions Team