Pandas not a gift

In your article “Fears raised over growing Chinese influence at Edinburgh Zoo” (The Scotsman, 3 March) the spokesperson for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) shot themselves in the foot.

While defending the RZSS against claims that China is having an unhealthy effect on policy at Edinburgh Zoo, the RZSS spokesperson referred to Giant Pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang as a “. . . gift from the Chinese Government to the UK”.

This denies the true situation and conveniently helps the Chinese Government hide the fact that they lease the pandas to the RZSS for (at current exchange rates) £724,593.31 per year. Not exactly a gift!

That is one of the reasons the RZSS have been subjecting the pandas to potentially dangerous artificial insemination procedures on an annual basis. They need a cute and cuddly panda cub to pull in paying punters and raise the money to cover their expensive commercial contract with China.

JOHN F ROBINS Secretary, Animal Concern

Advice Line, Dumbarton