Should Argentinean polar bear deemed ‘world’s saddest animal’ be moved to Winnipeg?

A polar bear being kept in an Argentinean zoo has been labeled the "world's saddest animal" by the international press and a massive petition calling for it to be moved to the Winnipeg zoo.

Arturo, the moping, overheated bear in question, has been at the centre of debate for more than a year. But so far there has been no movement from Argentinean veterinary officials, who canceled a planned transfer to the polar bear exhibit at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo earlier this year after claiming he was too sickly to move.

Arturo recently garnered a fresh wave of international attention, including a feature in the U.K.'s Sunday People, based on a series of photographs released of the animal acting despondent and uncomfortable in his concrete enclosure at the Mendoza Zoo in temperatures that often reach 40 C.

Via Sunday People:

A petition has been launched in an effort to save Arturo, with more than 200,000 people from around the world calling for Arturo to be removed from Argentina and taken to a better life in the Assiniboine Park Zoo. A similar petition on the Canadian side has garnered 12,500 signatures.

"We ask that you exercise your authority so the polar bear Arturo, who lives in deplorable conditions in the Mendoza Zoo, is moved to Assiniboine Park Zoo in Canada, where a natural habitat and a better life is awaiting him," reads the petition to Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

"We plead that [you] intervene on this issue and ask the officials in Mendoza who have the polar bear Arturo prisoner to accept Arturo's transfer to the reserve so he can live in suitable conditions."

The Assiniboine Park Zoo has recently established the largest and most comprehensive polar bear exhibit in the world. The zoo also benefits from having weather that is far more accommodating to a polar bear than its counterpart in South America.

In April 2013, protesters first began demonstrating outside the Mendoza Zoo and for a time, it appeared Arturo would be transferred to Winnipeg.

In February, however, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy confirmed that Argentinean officials were unable to provide health records for Arturo and had cancelled the move. Veterinary officials in Argentina claimed the bear was not in the condition needed to survive the transfer to Canada.

“We feel we are still in a position to have a positive influence for Arturo by continuing the dialogue with the Mendoza Zoo,” Assiniboine Park Conservancy chief operating officer Don Peterkin said at the time. “The Government of Mendoza has indicated they would welcome our advice regarding possible improvements to Arturo’s overall care and living conditions and we will move forward on that basis.”

Five months later, it seems Arturo is suffering in the same hell he faced in February. Requests for comment from the Assiniboine Park Conservancy were not returned on Thursday.

There are some who complain that the "physical evaluation" officials in Argentina gave Arturo was simply visual and that Arturo deserves a second look. Regardless, it seems doubtful that the best resolution for Arturo would be to allow him to suffer extensively in the hot sun and poor conditions he currently endures in Argentina.

Zoocheck Canada's Rob Laidlaw told The Mirror, “Arturo is in distress. They say there’s a risk if he is moved. But the risk is worth it. Arturo is walking dead right now.”

If Arturo truly is the world's saddest animal, surely his potential Canadian saviors could take a proactive role in cheering him up a bit.

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