A zoo in Finland has blamed rising inflation and maintenance prices for its resolution to return two large pandas to China, greater than eight years forward of the date they had been set to return.
The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, had 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.
The Finnish settlement was for a keep of 15 years, however as a substitute the pandas will quickly go right into a month-long quarantine earlier than they’re shipped again to China, in keeping with Ähtäri Zoo, the pandas’ present dwelling.
The zoo, a personal firm, had invested over 8m euros ($8.92m) within the facility the place the animals reside and confronted annual prices of 1.5m euros for his or her repairs, together with a preservation charge paid to China, Ähtäri chair Risto Sivonen informed the Reuters information company.
Since its founding in 1949, the Folks’s Republic of China has despatched pandas to overseas zoos to strengthen buying and selling ties, cement overseas relations and increase its worldwide picture.
The zoo had hoped the pandas would entice guests to the central Finland location however final yr mentioned it had as a substitute accrued 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 could possibly 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 overseas ministry mentioned.
Regardless of efforts by China to help the zoo, the 2 international locations ultimately collectively concluded after pleasant consultations to return the pandas, the Chinese language embassy in Helsinki mentioned in an announcement to Reuters.
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