A leading animal welfare group, earlier this week, expressed serious health concern over  a three-year-old female polar beer that is currently locked in an enclosure of a sprawling shopping mall in Guangzhou province.

The female polar bear, who has been named Pizza, is at the centre of animal rights controversy, apparently for her declining health.

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Humane Society International (HSI) released the latest video of Pizza on Tuesday claiming that it showed "worrying stereotypical behaviours such as head swaying and repetitive pacing, evidence of frustration and mental decline."

HSI and three other Chinese animal rights groups showed the video in a press conference that was called immediate closure of the aquarium at Grandview Mall.

Yu Hongmei, founder of Dalian-based VShine Animal Protection Association, said at the press conference that "a shopping mall is not the place to exhibit animals."

However, Grandview Mall Aquarium told Reuters in an email reply on Wednesday that they don't agree with the animal rights groups' observation on Pizza's health condition.

To counter their claims, Grandview released its own video showing an apparently "healthy" and "fit" pizza swimming in his aquarium and getting fed by staff.

Grandview also said the Pizza's tank, at 150 square meters, completely complies with Chinese rules for such enclosures.

The female polar bear gained worldwide fame in July, when Hong Kong-based animal group posted a video on its official website showing her sadly laying on her side in the enclosure while she was being clicked by curious visitors at Grandview Mall.

The name Pizza reportedly means "the tragic bear that suffers for selfies."

Several prominent media houses, including "The Telegraph," TIME magazine took note of the Pizza's photo and unanimously called it "the world's saddest polar bear."  

TagsPolar Bear in China, Polar Bear in Guangzhou Mall, Animal Rights in China, polar bear, Guangzhou