A new Chinese television reality show where entertainers hug whale sharks, kiss lions, feed pandas and dress up baby chimpanzees has come under fire from wildlife conservationists who want it taken off the air, saying such activities are cruel and are dangerous for both the humans and animals.

中国一档今年新推出的真人秀节目引起了动物保护者的批评。这档节目中，娱乐明星来到野生动物园，拥抱鲸鲨，亲吻狮子，给熊猫喂食，还给幼年猩猩换衣服。动物保护者说，这些人与野生动物的互动对动物残忍，而且人和动物都可能遇到危险。

The show, called “Wonderful Friends,” is the latest programming success from Hunan TV. The broadcaster, based in Changsha, was behind the hugely popular talent show “Super Girl,” which drew more than 400 million viewers for its season finale in 2005 when viewers got to vote for their favorite contestant¹.

这档名为《奇妙的朋友》的节目是湖南卫视最近的一个大热门。总部在长沙的湖南卫视曾经播出火爆的《超级女声》，2005年季终剧集有4亿人观看，粉丝通过短信投票选出“超女”。

The winning “Super Girl” herself, Li Yuchun, is now a major pop singer and among the six stars on “Wonderful Friends.” The new show was an immediate² hit. An estimated 20 million people watched the first episode when it aired on Jan. 24. Seven episodes in, it has attracted more than 196,000 followers³ on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.

那年的“超女”李宇春就是《奇妙的朋友》中六位明星之一。这档真人秀一播出即大受欢迎。1月24日首集播出时全国约有2000万人观看。目前已经播出了七集，在新浪微博上，就已经聚集了超过19.6万名粉丝。

In each episode, Ms. Li and her fellow participants are given zookeeping tasks that allow them to interact with wild animals at Chimelong Safari⁴ Park in the southern city of Guangzhou, whose website boasts of 20,000 rare animals and “the world’s most enchanting⁵ white tiger performance for guests.” The show’s mission, Chimelong says on its website, is to bring humans and animals closer together.

每集中，李宇春和其他明星会在广州长隆野生动物园接受一个与动物园管理有关的任务，这些任务让他们有机会和动物们亲密接触。长隆动物园的网站介绍说，动物园有2万只野生动物，还有全世界最精彩的白虎表演。长隆说，《奇妙的朋友》的目的是让人类与动物更加接近。

Animal welfare advocates say that is exactly what should be avoided.

动物保护主义者却说，这恰恰是应该避免的。

“There are so many reasons why ‘Wonderful Friends’ shouldn’t be on the air,” Dave Neale of Animals Asia, an advocacy group based in Hong Kong, said in a statement. “It is hugely misleading to the public about the needs and welfare of captive animals and does so while putting their welfare and health at risk.”

“出于太多的理由，应该停播《奇妙的朋友》，”总部在香港的亚洲动物基金的戴夫·尼尔在一则声明中说。“关于动物园动物的需求和福利，它严重误导公众，同时还威胁到他们的福利和健康。”

Animals Asia is leading a campaign to have the show canceled, and it says “thousands of social media users” in China are backing its call. A group of activists⁶ based in Beijing called Freedom for Animal Actors has presented a petition to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, which regulates China’s broadcasters.

亚洲动物基金发起了一个运动，要求停播这个节目。该组织的声明中说：中国“数千社交网络用户”响应了他们的呼吁。北京一个名为“拯救表演动物”的志愿者组织还向广电总局投递了公开信。

“Many people may think getting cuddly⁷ is an expression of love. What they don’t realize is wild animals need space,” said Xie Yan, a zoologist⁸ and China director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is based in New York. “Putting clothes on chimpanzees is not as adorable as you may think from the animals’ point of view.”

“很多人会觉得宠爱就是对动物的爱护。但他们不明白，野生动物应该在不受干扰的环境中生存，”总部在纽约的国际野生生物保护学会动物学家和中国项目主任解焱说。“人们觉得给猩猩穿上衣服很可爱，从动物的角度，却不是这样。”

The hazards run both ways when humans and animals get too close, Ms. Xie added.

解焱还说，人与动物过于接近，危险是双向的。

One of the celebrity⁹ participants in the show, Ni Ni, an actress who appeared in Zhang Yimou’s “The Flowers of War,” was bitten by a chimpanzee on the first day of taping and had to be rushed to the hospital for rabies shots, according to a report in Xin Kuai Bao, a Guangzhou newspaper.

根据广州《新快报》的报道，《奇妙的朋友》中一个演员、曾出演张艺谋电影《金陵十三钗》的倪妮在开拍第一天就被猩猩咬伤，紧急送到了医院打狂犬疫苗。

Telephone calls seeking comment went unanswered on Wednesday and Thursday at Hunan TV’s headquarters. The broadcaster told The Beijing News last week that the celebrities¹⁰ had undergone training before taping started, without specifying¹¹ what kind. Professional zookeepers can be seen supervising them during the show.

周三和周四时，记者始终未能联系到湖南卫视在长沙的总部。上周，湖南卫视接受《新京报》采访时说，参加拍摄的明星之前都曾经过培训，但未说明是什么样的培训。每集节目中，观众可以看到，有专业的动物园工作人员监督明星们的活动。

Hunan TV and the animal protection group WildAid had discussed running a joint¹² fund-raising campaign for animal welfare during the show, according to the San Francisco-based group’s China program director, May Mei. She said the plan was dropped because WildAid officials could not see a preview or pilot episode of the show.

据旧金山动物保护组织野生救援的中国项目主任子雯说，她所在的机构和湖南卫视曾讨论在节目中开展联合募捐活动，用于推动动物福利。但她说，这个计划后来被放弃了，因为野生救援未能事先看到样片。

“I guess their idea was to get their viewers to love the animals, which could be a promising¹³ start for conservation efforts,” Ms. Mei said. “But we do not agree with their entertainment-oriented approach.”

“我想他们的思路是希望人们对动物会更加喜爱，先有了喜爱才会去保护，”子雯说。“但我们不赞同他们追求娱乐的拍摄方式。”

Using celebrities to focus public attention on wildlife is a common practice in conservation campaigns. Last year, WildAid released the documentary “The End of the Wild,” which follows the Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming to Africa, where he highlighted the problem of elephant and rhinoceros¹⁴ poaching.

在野生动物保护中，用名人效应吸引公众注意也是惯常的做法。去年，野生救援推出纪录片《野性的终结》，记录了篮球明星姚明赴非洲了解大象和犀牛盗猎的见闻。

But the difference with “Wonderful Friends,” Ms. Mei said, is that in an awareness¹⁵ campaign like Mr. Yao’s, human observers keep their distance. “Yao was there to see the hard truth of poaching, and that is different from a show created to drive ratings,” she said.

但子雯说，与《奇妙的朋友》不同，姚明的纪录片中，人类观察者与野生动物是保持距离的。“姚明在非洲是为了直面盗猎的真相，和追求收视率的电视节目是不一样的，”她说。

Critics also argue that the show violates Chinese wildlife protection laws.

批评者还说，这档节目违反了中国野生动物保护的相关法规。

In 2010, China’s State Forestry¹⁶ Administration banned entertainment activities at zoos that allow nonprofessionals to have close contact with wild animals. But the ban carried no penalties and has been loosely enforced. It is widely ignored by Chinese zoos and wildlife parks, where visitors are often seen petting animals and posing for photographs with them.

2010年，中国林业局曾禁止动物园从事游客与动物亲密接触的活动。但这个禁令没有惩罚措施，执行也不力。在中国的动物园，这个禁令经常被无视，游客爱抚动物、与动物合影的情况很普遍。

In December, four giant pandas at a breeding facility in the northwestern province of Shaanxi contracted distemper, and all have since died. Transmission from humans or their pets is suspected because the facility was open to tourists.

去年12月，陕西一个大熊猫繁殖基地的四头大熊猫感染犬瘟，全部死亡。这个基地是对游客开放的，因此怀疑是人类或宠物把病毒传染给了熊猫。

In response to the pandas’ deaths, the Forestry Administration issued another directive in January reiterating¹⁷ its rules, but once again without measures for enforcement.

事后，林业局又传达禁令，重申游客与野生动物不得亲密接触，但仍然没有明确罚则。

Chimelong did not respond to emailed requests for comment on Thursday. In an interview last week with Xin Kuai Bao, it said it receives more than 24 million visitors a year to its safari park in Guangzhou and its aquatic¹⁸ theme park in Zhuhai. “Wonderful Friends” viewers are offered chances to win free tickets to Chimelong parks.

长隆到周四时仍然没有回应采访请求。上周接受《新快报》采访时，长隆介绍说，集团下的野生动物园和珠海的海洋馆每年共接待游客2400万人。《奇妙的动物》播出时，观众可以参与互动，有机会赢得免费的长隆观光门票。