Animal rights activists had, in response, dubbed Arturo the "world's saddest animal" and promoted a petition to have him moved to Assiniboine Park Zoo, a zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
[2] It gained considerable attention after the hashtag #Freearturo began trending on Twitter.
Supporters of the petition also noted that a polar bear died in Buenos Aires in December 2012 due to excessive heat, and argued that Arturo exhibited symptoms of depression and other mental health problems.
[6] On July 24, 2014, the director of the Mendoza Zoo, Gustavo Pronotto, told the Associated Press that Arturo was too old to be moved to Canada.
[9] Arturo died on July 3, 2016, aged 30–31, despite polar bears rarely living beyond 25.