A zoo in Finland has blamed rising inflation and animal welfare costs for its decision to return two giant pandas to China, more than eight years ahead of the deadline set for their return, Chinese media reported.
The zoo in the Finnish city of Ähtäri will return the two Chinese-gifted pandas Hua Bao (Pyry) and Jin Bao Bao (Lumi) to their home country due to falling revenues in 2024. The zoo is currently applying for debt restructuring to “secure its future operations.”
The zoo’s management says the decision to return the pandas to China comes amid a decline in the number of tourists, including from Russia, restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and rising interest rates due to the armed conflict in Ukraine. Ähtäri Zoo board chairman Risto Sivonen. said:
“Our resources are no longer sufficient to continue the conservation programme for this species [pandas]. Our responsibility extends to all the animals in the zoo, so to ensure the continuation of the work, the right solution for the whole zoo and the animals is to make an agreement and bring back the pandas.”
Lumi and Pyry will remain at Ähtäri Zoo until the end of autumn this year. They will then be placed in quarantine, which is necessary before leaving for another country.
The pandas arrived in Finland from China in 2018. According to the agreement, they were to stay in the country until 2033.
