THAT was some Chinese takeaway! Not so much a special Chow Mein foil-wrapped with an extra portion of prawn crackers and satay sauce, more a customised Fed Ex “panda express” flying direct from Chengdu province. Never mind the slow boat from China!
It seems after years of diplomatic negotiations – and even royal intervention – Edinburgh Zoo’s dream of attracting the “rock star animals” has finally come true. And all this before the X Factor final... The arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang – that’s “Sweetie” and “Sunlight” to you and me – has been fanfared by the Scottish Government as symbolising a new era in cultural and economic relations between the two countries.
It has led some animal welfare campaigners to suggest the giant pandas are being exploited for commercial and political gain. Whilst other conservationists believe the endangered species should simply be left to die out.David Bellamy, the leading conservationist and TV personality, says the millions being spent on the pandas’ breeding and research programme should be diverted, instead, to saving the rain forests.
Libby Anderson, policy director at One Kind, an animal welfare charity, said on Scotland Tonight that treating the pandas as “diplomatic gifts” sends out the wrong message.
We see them as entertaining zoo exhibits, she claimed, arguing that their future survival would best be achieved by in situ, local conservation initiatives back in China which tackled both illegal poaching and the reforestation of their natural habitat.
It has led some observers to note that were it not for the fact that the pandas are so cute they would have become extinct years ago.
The arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the first giant pandas in Britain for 17 years, has created a flurry of media excitement. A spokesman for Edinburgh Zoo suggested it was “a highly visible statement of the growing momentum to improve international relationships between the UK and China”.
It is estimated that the zoo’s visitor numbers, currently 80,000 a year, will double over the coming months.
The zoo has built a special panda enclosure to accommodate our new furry friends. Complete with nursery and kitchen, the cost of this impressive facility has varied, according newspaper reports, from £250,000 to £300,000. And for a mere £3000 for half an hour, wedding couples and their guests can rent access to the enclosure to enable them to tie the knot and have all their wedding photos taken in front of Edinburgh’s most famous exhibits.
Apparently corporate hospitality packages costing £12k will be available in due course...
The Scottish Government, anxious to capitalise on the arrival of the new guests, has placed a series of adverts in all the national and provincial press seeking to justify – or glorify – the latest acquisitions. It almost smacks of soliciting.
The pandas, which are on a long-term loan, will hopefully mate and breed new cubs.
But some believe the chances of this are unlikely given the female panda only breeds on just two days each year.
No panda has ever been successfully reintroduced back into the wild. So is Edinburgh Zoo the right place for them?
With their favourite imported bamboo feed costing £70,000 a year, will it be worth all the expense?
It’s all a question of priorities. I’ve never made any secret of my nationalist political persuasions but I do have one message for the Scottish Government: Get a grip!
Hundreds of thousands of the most frail and vulnerable members of our society are suffering – I’m referring to the care of older people in their own homes being cut back due to budget austerity measures. Would it be inappropriate of me to suggest that our other cute “sweeties” and “sunlights” – very probably your granny and granddad – deserve much better care and support than this country seems able to provide for them?
With the winter fuel allowance running between a mere £200 to £300, compared to £70k to feed two bears, it seems like a case of out of sight, out of mind.
So just how cute is your granny and granddad? When did they last get the VIP treatment?
LAST Friday turned out to be a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I had the first signings of my new book, Under A Northern Sky, in D.R. Simpson’s bookshop in Wick.
I must admit I was a bit apprehensive at first but actually I enjoyed my day – especially meeting and chatting to the folk who turned up to offer support and, more importantly, buy a copy!
My youngest daughter, Alison, who had been unwell most of the week, attended a job interview and was lucky enough to secure a promoted post. The good news, though, was cancelled out by the sudden decline in the family pet cat, Stroma, who had to be taken to the vet where, very sadly, the prognosis was bleak.
Poor Stroma. She had reached the magnificent age of 17-and-a-half years. She was one of the main constants in my daughters’ lives.
Stroma was there as they headed off to primary school, through the high school years, their times at university and all the comings and goings life throws at us. Rhea, our first granddaughter (and just nine months old) loved petting Stroma, albeit very gently as she had become a frail and confused old lady. So for all my earlier comments about cuddly bears I do recognise the huge bond that develops between people and their pets.
That much was obvious in the tears that followed Stroma’s loss. Stroma was one of the family.
And maybe the Government needs to remind itself that charity begins at home – not fostering expensive bonds we can ill afford with animal “rock stars” best looked after in their natural habitat – and definitely not within the artificial confines of a zoo enclosure.
