The Ähtäri Zoo in Finland will return two giant pandas to China in November, eight years before the agreed-upon deadline, as they can no longer afford to care for them.
Lumi and Pyry were brought to Finland in 2018 after the two countries signed a wildlife protection agreement.
The pandas were supposed to stay in the Nordic country for 15 years, but they will be sent back home in November as the zoo blames inflation and debt related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the pandas’ eviction.
The zoo’s management informed the Chinese that they have been spending 1.5 million euros annually on the pandas’ upkeep, as well as over 8 million euros on their habitat. Another factor in the decision to return the pandas is that the Finnish government last year rejected requests for state funding.
A spokesperson for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the pandas’ return is a business decision that does not involve the government and should not affect relations between Finland and China.
China sends pandas to foreign zoos to strengthen its trade ties, relations, and image abroad, a practice popularly referred to as “panda diplomacy.”