U.S. Fears Harm to Pandas, Bars Michigan Exhibit
WASHINGTON — A Michigan exhibition of two rare giant pandas from China might harm the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday in refusing permission to import the animals.
The Pandarama exhibit, sponsored by Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the state Department of Natural Resources, would have displayed the animals for 100 days this summer at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit.
Under an agreement with China’s Sichuan province, the exhibitors would pay at least $300,000 for the loan of the pandas, and the money would be used to build a panda captive-breeding facility and to improve wild pandas’ natural habitat.
“There are some risks to the species from the loan which are not adequately outweighed by the potential benefits,†the Fish and Wildlife decision said. “A reduction in the threat of extinction from this import cannot be demonstrated from the information in the record.â€
The decision said expansion of facilities for breeding pandas in captivity “could lead to the removal of additional animals from the wild to stock it.â€
The two pandas proposed for the Michigan exhibit are already living in the Chendu Zoo in China.
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