The short-term gain is frequently undone by the long-term pain of accommodating these high-maintenance debutantes of the captive animal world. Of course, the message pandas are a licence to bleed money never makes headlines because no one likes a panda party spoiler. “If you’re going to breed critically endangered species, you don’t rent them out and fly them all over the world — that’s show business. Or, perhaps our chief panda-hero could ask about what’s being done to help families living near panda conservation areas in China — some of which Bexall calls “paper parks” — so they aren’t forced to choose between feeding their children, or encroaching on panda habitat. But it would be good if we could at least stop pretending any of that showmanship makes a difference in the future of this endangered species.

Source: National Post September 01, 2016 20:15 UTC