Edinburgh Zoo has today signed an agreement to bring two giant pandas to the zoo, the first giant pandas to be kept in the UK for 17 years.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which owns Edinburgh Zoo, first announced its intention to lease a pair of pandas from the Chinese Government in 2008. The intention is to breed cubs in Scotland.
However, OneKind has questioned the wisdom of attempting to breed pandas in captivity so far from their natural habitat.
When asked to comment on the story, OneKind's Ross Minett, Science and Research Manager (Animal Sentience & Behaviour) said:
“If conservation and breeding of pandas is the paramount concern then it would be far more sensible to see the money being invested in good wildlife reserves in China. The main reason that pandas are an endangered species in the wild is because of the destruction of their habitat – the temperate bamboo forests.
“In this day and age, the prospect of two animals being transported from their homeland across the world so that the paying public in Scotland can see them in a cage in a zoo raises serious animal welfare concerns and is outlandish.
“This is a commercial deal: the animals may appear to be diplomatic gifts – an outdated concept in itself – but in fact the zoo will pay a substantial fee for the lease of these animals. The Scottish and UK governments should ask themselves whether their support for this project is really in line with modern concepts of animal welfare and conservation.”
It is extremely difficult to reintroduce captive pandas back into the wild. One panda returned to the wild in 2007 was killed by the wild population as he lacked the social skills to compete and defend himself.
Ross added: “If it is difficult for pandas raised in captivity in China to be released back into the wild, what hope is there for pandas raised thousands of miles away in Scotland. Clearly they are intended to be an exhibit, not to lead a natural life.
“International conservation organisations like the World Wide Fund for Nature favour an approach that protects the panda’s habitat and allows the natural population to grow, and if Edinburgh Zoo is serious about conservation it should be throwing its support behind local projects in China.”
When Edinburgh Zoo announced its intention to rent the pandas an international coalition of animal welfare and conservation organisations wrote to the UK’s Prime Minister and Scotland’s First Minister urging them not to support the zoo’s plan.
What do you think? Are the RZSS and Edinburgh Zoo right to bring pandas to Scotland?