A Finnish zoo has announced the early return of two giant pandas to China, blaming rising inflation and maintenance costs for the decision. The pandas, Lumi and Pyry, were brought to Finland in 2018 under a 15-year agreement, but will now be returned after just over three years at their current home, the Ahtari Zoo. The private company running the zoo cited high annual upkeep costs and mounting debts, exacerbated by the pandemic, as reasons for the decision.
The People’s Republic of China has a history of sending pandas to foreign zoos to strengthen diplomatic ties, and the Finnish government had rejected pleas for state funding to support the pandas’ stay. After three years of negotiations, the zoo ultimately decided to return the pandas, with the Chinese embassy in Helsinki stating that the decision was made after friendly consultations and should not impact relations between the two countries.
The decision is a business one made by the zoo and does not involve the Finnish government, according to a spokesperson for Finland’s foreign ministry. Despite hopes that the pandas would attract visitors, the economic challenges faced by the zoo outweighed any benefits of keeping the animals. The pandas will soon go into quarantine before being shipped back to China, ending their relatively short stay in Finland.
Source
Photo credit www.theguardian.com
