Against Captivity of Giant Pandas in Zoos
- by: Anne Hall
- recipient: Lord Hannington, Leader of Essex County Council, Essex County Council
Lord Hanningfield, Leader of Essex County Council has been in the media this
past week saying that he wants to negotiate the introduction of Giant Pandas
to a British Zoo. Colchester Zoo has apparently expressed interest.
CAPS believe that the over-riding purpose of bringing pandas to a British
zoo would be for tourism and Lord Hanningfield appears to admit that with
his comment "I am sure that the queues to see them would stretch for miles."
According to the United Nations Environment Programme "Giant Pandas are one
if not the most sought after of animals for zoos. They are probably the
biggest crowd pullers on Earth."
We the undersigned object to the proposal made by Lord Hannington, leader of Essex County Council, to import Giant Pandas from China for captivity in a British zoo.
We believe that the display of Giant pandas in zoos is done primarily for entertainment and tourism purposes and does nothing to protect this endangered species. Pandas need protecting in their natural habitat and should not be used to entertain zoo visitors.
We call upon Lord Hannington to withdraw his suggestion, on zoos (particularly Colchester Zoo) to refuse to exhibit Giant pandas, and on the relevant government authorities to refuse permission for the importation of the animals.
