MSP tables objection to panda transfer plan

Published on Thursday 15 May 2008 22:07

EFFORTS to bring a pair of pandas from China to Edinburgh Zoo have met with opposition in the Scottish Parliament.

Revelations in The Scotsman that the pandas could come to the capital from Wolong Research Centre in China's Sichuan Province has provoked concern among some wildlife campaign groups.

They have been backed by Robin Harper, a Green MSP, who has put down a parliamentary motion raising concerns about the proposal, which could be signed and sealed before the Beijing Olympics.

Mr Harper said: "The Scottish Green Party supports efforts to conserve giant pandas, but we are concerned that the proposal to attempt captive breeding for re-introduction into the wild has little prospect of success."

He called for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland to work in collaboration with their counterparts in China, investing with them in extending and maintaining panda habitats.

And he added: "Restoration of habitat is now the major issue, and far and away the best way to protect pandas, as with so many other endangered species."

Mr Harper has taken on the campaign pushed forward by Advocates for Animals, the group which has persuaded Mike Hancock, a Liberal Democrat MP, to put a similar motion down in Westminster.

A spokesman for Advocates for Animals said yesterday: "Edinburgh Zoo seems to be putting money, visitor numbers and the prestige of having unusual animals in its collection above concerns for animal welfare and conservation.

"If Edinburgh Zoo wishes to help giant pandas, this should be by supporting in situ conservation in Chinese panda reserves, along with moves to preserve the animals' natural habitat.

"To make the provision of support for such projects dependent on the acquisition of animals for exhibition in a Scottish zoo is, in our opinion, unethical."

There were concerns that the workers and pandas at the Wolong Research Centre may have been in danger from the recent earthquake in China.

The centre is near the epicentre of the earthquake, but it was reported all 86 pandas, including 13 cubs, were unharmed by the disaster, which has taken the lives of thousands of people.

The agreement to bring pandas to Edinburgh Zoo is meant to serve two purposes – to help in the breeding programme to boost the number of pandas currently standing at 2,000 in the world, and also to provide a crowd-puller for the zoo.

The pandas coming to Edinburgh would be aged between two and three.