Giant Pandas’ Finnish Farewell: Early Departure Sparks Concern, But Diplomatic Ties Remain Unshaken

Having arrived in Finland in 2018, the original intention was to take 15 years

After President Xi Jinping visited Finland in 2017 and signed a joint agreement on animal protection, “Golden Baby” and “Huabao” arrived in Finland in January 2018. The agreement allowed both big pandas stay in Finland for 15 years. Currently, the two giant pandas will enter a month-long quarantine period before being transported back to China.

The National Broadcasting Corporation of Finland (Yle) quoted the Ekhteri Zoo as saying that the decision to return the two giant pandas was the result of a combination of factors, including the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, a drop in visitor numbers, inflation, and outbreaks of the Russian war -Ukraine factors such as rising interest rates. Reports indicate that Ahteri Zoo has tried to breed giant pandas many times, but failed. After the coronavirus outbreak, the zoo began to run into financial difficulties.

The subsidy application was rejected due to insufficient income.

Gard: 3 years have passed since returning was discussed

Reuters quoted Risto Sivonen, chairman of Ahteri Zoo’s board of directors, as saying yesterday (25th) that the zoo is private and has invested more than 8 million euros (about HK$69.64 million) in residential facilities for giant pandas the cost of which is 1.5 million euro, or more than 13 million Hong Kong dollars. This includes raising and caring for the two giant pandas, plus the conservation fees paid to China, but only about 600,000 euros can be offset by ticket revenue. The Finnish government had offered a one-off grant of 200,000 euros in 2021, but last year rejected the zoo’s request for a grant of 5 million euros.

Sivonen said that negotiations for the return of the giant pandas lasted for three years, and the two sides finally reached an agreement. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland said that the return of the giant pandas is a commercial decision of the zoo, which does not involve the Finnish government, and should not affect the relationship between the two countries. The Chinese Embassy in Helsinki said in a statement to Reuters that despite China’s efforts to provide assistance to the zoo, the two countries jointly decided to return the giant pandas after friendly consultations.

The public WeChat account of the “China Wildlife Conservation Association” announced the day before yesterday (24th) that China and Finland have jointly decided, after friendly consultations, to transfer two giant pandas traveling to Finland to China in advance from the point of view of prioritizing health and well-being Giant pandas were returned. “Leopard” and “Golden Baby” to China this year. In the next step, the two parties will carry out communication and cooperation to make joint preparations for the breeding and management of giant pandas and their return to China.