Chris Packham: 'Giant pandas should be allowed to die out'
The television presenter said that the species was not strong enough to survive on its own and that the millions spent preserving them could be better spent elsewhere.
Mr Packham, who hosts BBC2s Springwatch, also argued that breeding the animals in captivity for later release was pointless because there is not enough habitat left to sustain them.
He said: %u201CHeres a species that of its own accord has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It%u2019s not a strong species.
%u201CUnfortunately, its big and cute and it%u2019s a symbol of the World Wildlife Fund %u2013 and we pour millions of pounds into panda conservation.
%u201CI reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go with a degree of dignity.%u201D
The 48-year-old also claimed that tigers could become extinct with two decades.
He told the Radio Times: %u201CAnimals are invariably becoming extinct because there%u2019s no secure habitat for them.
%u201CWhere are you going to release them? I don%u2019t think tigers are going to last another 15 years. How can you conserve an animal that%u2019s worth more dead than alive? You can%u2019t.%u201D
Giant pandas have been dying out because of the destruction of their natural habitat and are only found in about 20 patches of forest in a densely populated region of China.
There are around 1,600 in the wild with around 180 more being reared in captivity.
Fellow wildlife expert David Bellamy lent his support to Mr Packham. %u201CI agree completely,%u201D he said. %u201CWhen I was a WWF trustee I begged them to buy big chunks of the land in which these animals live, not just go on spending millions on rearing pandas in captivity.
%u201CYou cant release them back into the wild if there is no wild left and we shouldn%u2019t rear animals just to put them into cages.
%u201CEven the WWF admitted there is no longer enough land for them to live on.%u201D
However, Dr Mark Wright, a conservation science adviser for WWF described Mr Packhams comments as %u201Cdaft%u201D and %u201Cirresponsible%u201D.
He said: %u201CPandas have adapted to where they live. They live in the mountains where there is plenty of the bamboo they want to eat.
%u201CIt%u2019s like saying the blue whale is in an evolutional cul-de-sac because it lives in the ocean.%u201D
Dr Wright added that pandas face extinction due to poaching and humans moving into their habitat, and that if left alone they would not be under threat.
