Trapped in a glass prison: 'World's saddest polar bear' bangs against a metal door in a Chinese shopping centre as gawping tourists take selfies

She was dubbed 'the saddest polar bear in the world' after a video of her slumped on her side, her mouth quivering, broke the hearts of animal lovers around the globe.

The aquarium in which she lives, branded a 'prison', is in the centre of a Chinese shopping mall and she lives in an enclosure in which she barely has room to run. 

The bear, named Pizza, repeatedly thumped her paws against a metal door and chucked ice lumps about with her mouth before falling asleep in a dark corner when MailOnline visited Grandview Aquarium in the southern city of Guangzhou.

She is the main attraction for the aquarium in the shopping centre and there was a constant stream of tourists snapping selfies against the enclosure's glass panels, reports the Daily Mail.

 

Children sporadically thumped against the glass and aquarium staff did nothing to stop them. 

The cramped conditions have attracted charity Animals Asia to the three-year-old bear's plight, and a petition launched in March to have the Grandview Aquarium closed has been signed by nearly 300,000 people. 

Dave Neale, the charity's animal welfare director, told MailOnline: 'It's a small, highly restrictive environment which doesn't allow her to carry out almost all of her natural behaviours. 

“There is a pool for her to swim in but it's very small. It's impossible to satisfy her physical and behavioural needs within such a restrictive environment and therefore she should be removed to a facility that can provide for her needs.”

A visitor to the aquarium confessed that, after seeing the enclosure, he would also be signing the petition to have the aquarium closed.

“It really should be bigger,” he says. “However, I do think things like this can be good for city people like us, so we can see these animals”.

Grandview has caused uproar online, with an ever-growing number of people demanding an end to animal rights abuses in the country.

Allegations of poor conditions after the aquarium opened in December 2015 prompted an investigation by the Guangzhou Ocean and Fishery Bureau. 

It found that some animals were injured or even died after they were moved to the shopping centre. 

But the centre's management deny the claims. 

Li Chengtang, the deputy general manager, claims reports give a false impression of the venue. 

He denied that animals are kept in poor conditions, but admitted Animals Asia's attention has prompted them to give the facilities a boost. 

Pizza can't be released into the wild because she was born in captivity, but they have come up with a 'polar bear enrichment plan' to improve life for the animal.

Live fish will be put in her pool for her to chase and food will be frozen into ice blocks to challenge her.
 

She will also be given sporadic access to an area out of view from customers. 

 

“It's a reminder for us that we should better protect the bear and provide better care,” he said, in response to the “saddest polar bear” label.

But she won't be moving to a bigger enclosure any time soon.  

When asked about the bureau's probe, he told MailOnline: 'No fish died in great amounts. Some small fish died [when moved to the venue] but that's not the case for large fish, which go through quarantine when they move in.

“Small fish like jellyfish may die, that's unavoidable.”

He added: 'We set up this aquarium to educate people. People in Guangzhou don't have opportunities to see a lot of marine animals and we are making their dreams come true.'