HELSINKI: Finland will return two large pandas to China in November, greater than eight years forward of time, because the zoo the place they stay can now not afford their maintenance, the chair of the zoo’s board advised Reuters on Tuesday (Sep 24).
The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, have been dropped at Finland in January 2018, months after Chinese language President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic nation and signed a joint settlement on defending the animals.
Since its founding in 1949, the Folks’s Republic of China has despatched pandas to international zoos to strengthen trading ties, cement foreign relations and boost its international image.
The Finnish settlement was for a keep of 15 years, however as an alternative the pandas will quickly go right into a month-long quarantine earlier than they’re shipped again to China, in response to Ahtari Zoo, the pandas’ present dwelling.
The zoo, a non-public firm, had invested over 8 million euros (US$8.92 million) within the facility the place the animals stay and confronted annual prices of 1.5 million euros for his or her maintenance, together with a preservation price paid to China, Ahtari Chair Risto Sivonen mentioned.
The zoo had hoped the pandas would entice guests to the central Finland location however final yr mentioned it had as an alternative amassed mounting money owed because the pandemic curbed journey, and that it was discussing a return.
Rising inflation had added to the prices, the zoo mentioned, and Finland’s authorities in 2023 rejected pleas for state funding.
In all, negotiations to return the animals had lasted three years, Sivonen mentioned.
“Now we reached a degree the place the Chinese language mentioned it might be performed,” Sivonen mentioned.
The return of the pandas was a enterprise resolution made by the zoo which didn’t contain Finland’s authorities and shouldn’t impression relations between the 2 international locations, a spokesperson for Finland’s international ministry mentioned.
The Chinese language embassy in Helsinki didn’t reply to a request for remark.
