@[email protected] I have yet to see a tree die from hugging.
This particular tree is standing in a forest full of wild horses and a whole bunch of cows and it's still standing.
I choose to look at this as a harmless thing as there is no damage to neither the roots nor the bark due to the paint used rather than a knife to the bark.

Bad idea. When a person hugges a tree he is stepping on its roots, when many people do this the earth is compacted by the weight of the people and the roots die. It's a selfish fad.