Finland is to return two giant pandas to China in November, more than eight years ahead of time, as the zoo where they live can no longer afford their upkeep, the chair of the zoo’s board said on Tuesday.
The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, were brought to Finland in January 2018, months after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) visited the Nordic country and signed a joint agreement on protecting the animals.
Since its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has sent pandas to foreign zoos to strengthen trading ties, cement foreign relations and boost its international image.
Photo: AP
The Finnish agreement was for a stay of 15 years, but instead the pandas are soon to go into a month-long quarantine before they are shipped back to China, said Ahtari Zoo, the pandas’ current home.
The zoo, a private company, had invested more than 8 million euros (US$8.95 million) in the facility where the animals live and faced annual costs of 1.5 million euros for their upkeep, including a preservation fee paid to China, Ahtari chair Risto Sivonen said.
The zoo had hoped the pandas would attract visitors to the central Finland location, but last year said it had instead accumulated mounting debts as the COVID-19 pandemic curbed travel, and that it was discussing a return.
Rising inflation had added to the costs, the zoo said, and the Finnish government last year rejected pleas for state funding.
In all, negotiations to return the animals had lasted three years, Sivonen said.
“Now we reached a point where the Chinese said it could be done,” Sivonen said.
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