Edinburgh may have to give up its pandas

EDINBURGH ZOO’S giant pandas may have to return to China next year at the end of its 10-year contract with the Chinese government due to financial pressures caused by the pandemic.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park, faced enormous financial pressure when it was forced to close for three months during the summer.

David Field, the chief executive of the Society, said the charity will have to “seriously consider every potential saving”, including its giant panda contract. It costs about £1 million a year to lease a mating pair.

Mr Field said: “Although our parks are open again, we lost around £2 million last year and it seems certain that restrictions, social distancing and limits on our visitor numbers will continue for some time, which will also reduce our income.” The zoo was not eligible

for the Government’s zoo fund, which was aimed at smaller zoos.

Mr Field added: “We have to seriously consider every potential saving and this includes assessing our giant panda contract and the cost of their daily care. At this stage, it is too soon to say what the outcome will be.

“We will be discussing next steps with our colleagues in China over the coming months.”

The zoo is part of a number of conservation projects, including one to reintroduce Scottish wildcats. However, Mr Field said projects such as that may also have to be scrapped as the zoo is unable to apply for grants from the European Union after Brexit.

“Yang Guang and Tian Tian [the pandas] have made a tremendous impression on our visitors over the last nine years, helping millions of people connect to nature and inspiring them to take an interest in wildlife conservation,” he said. “I would love for them to be able to stay for a few more years with us and that is certainly my current aim.”