Heat wave, neglect suspected in panda death
- Source: Global Times
- [01:54 July 26 2010]
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"About a dozen pandas are given to foreign countries as gifts each year, and about 60 are kept in zoos across the country," he said.
He said there are strict rules governing the presenting of pandas as gifts to other countries and leasing pandas to other zoos.
"It can only be done when the higher authorities approve of it and when recipients meet the criteria," he said.
Heng declined to comment on the cause of death of Quan Quan, or how much Wolong center charged Jinan Zoo for the leasing of the panda.
Quan Quan's passing revived concern that the attention surrounding the species is too much. Critics say the leasing of pandas, which disturbs their normal habits, has become some zoos' way of luring tourists.
He Yong, special assistant to the Asia regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, told the Global Times that all wildlife, including pandas, can be best protected only in its habitat.
"I'm sure pandas are already well protected and taken care of," he said, "but it is still unfair for pandas to suffer from fatigue and physiological disturbance during their transfer to a new place and a long and usually unpleasant process of adoption to a new environment simply for the economic or political benefit of humans."
He called for more attention to be paid to the conditions of animals raised in zoos.
"There should also be specific laws to protect the welfare of animals under artificial rearing," he said.
Quan Quan is reportedly the second panda to die at Jinan Zoo.
Tao Tao, a panda that was also loaned to the zoo, died of multiple diseases at the age of 36 in April 2008, 14 years after arriving at the zoo, reports said. It had attracted more than 4 million visitors and was hailed as the oldest panda living in captivity.
Yan Yan, a 22-year-old panda on loan from China to the Berlin Zoo, died on March 26, 2007. There was speculation that the panda was fed too much sugar, but vets at the zoo claimed Yan Yan died of constipation, media reports said.
Song Shengxia and Zhao Zhijie contributed to this story
