Q and A: Iain Valentine

Published on Wednesday 28 May 2008 22:01

The head of animals, conservation and education at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, on the move to bring giant pandas to Edinburgh Zoo and the decision to donate £10,000 to the disaster relief fund set up to help the panda research centre in China in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake.

How did it come about that you have the opportunity possibly to bring giant pandas to Edinburgh?

We have been introducing Chinese species into our collection quite gradually. It stemmed from that. We had been talking about it with China for about a year and it culminated with our visit where the letter of intent was signed.

Why did you want to help out when disaster struck in China?

It happened just a few weeks after our visit, when we met staff over there, five of whom were killed in the earthquake. They are friends and colleagues now and we just wanted to do whatever we could to assist them.

What do you think of the media coverage you got about helping them out?

We didn't want to jump up and shout about it because it's a bit sensitive, but if you can make people aware that there's a fund available so people can help out, that will help the China Wildlife Conservation Association. There has been some criticism of giant pandas coming and being kept in zoos, but the earthquake highlights the importance of doing so, because if you have got a concentrated population in one place it shows how fragile it can be.

How important do you think it will be for Edinburgh if the zoo does get giant pandas?

It's very important because it will form part of our aim to turn Edinburgh Zoo into a world-class visitor attraction and will bring one million-plus visitors to Edinburgh, so there are benefits to the local economy.

What's next in the bid to bring pandas to Edinburgh?

It's all on hold at the moment because of the earthquake. Our main concern is assisting Wolong in any way we can. We won't start discussions again until relief has found its way to them.