El Ciudadano
Original article: “Chile no necesita un panda enjaulado”: animalistas acusan a Buin Zoo de disfrazar como “sueño país” una estrategia de marketing
Animal Rights Groups Criticize Buin Zoo’s Campaign for Giant Panda as Marketing Strategy, Not Conservation
«Chile Does Not Need a Caged Panda»—this harsh critique was delivered by animal rights groups accusing Buin Zoo of disguising a marketing strategy as a «national dream.» This initiative aims to collect one million signatures to facilitate the arrival of a giant panda, a vulnerable and protected species, in the country.
The biopark stated through its campaign that «each signature will be a concrete demonstration of our country’s interest in advancing this project,» aiming to show involving institutions that there is broad public support for having the Giant Panda as a new conservation ambassador in Chile.
«We are convinced that great challenges require great dreams,» stated Buin Zoo to encourage public support for its initiative.
In response, the organization Animal Rights and Defense clarified that a panda «is not a tourist attraction nor a marketing strategy to attract more visitors.»
The organization reminded that pandas «are wild animals with highly specific needs. Their recovery as a species has occurred due to the protection of their forests and natural habitat, not through their display in zoos worldwide,» as stated in a message shared on social networks.
They highlighted that these animals are protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which allows their transport between countries only in exceptional cases, where «the species is not endangered and does not serve primarily commercial purposes.»
«The regulation that protects them exists to conserve them, not to exhibit them,» they emphasized, while questioning why Buin Zoo is promoting a campaign to bring a panda to our country to be caged as part of an exhibit.
«Chile does not need a caged panda. It needs to protect its own wildlife and move towards a more ethical and respectful relationship with animals, where their lives are not used for entertainment,» they asserted.
Opposition to Bringing a Panda to Chile for a Life of Solitude
The Animal Lawyers Foundation (APLA) also expressed strong opposition to the panda’s arrival, arguing that this move does not contribute to the conservation of the species.
The NGO also questioned the high cost of maintaining a panda in Chile, estimated at nearly one million dollars annually, suggesting those resources could be better spent on protecting native wildlife.
«Additionally, we are considering that a panda would be brought to live in isolation. From the animal rights movement, we have questioned the fact that Buin Zoo has an orangutan named Sandai who has been alone in captivity for over ten years and has repeatedly been requested to be moved to a sanctuary,» stated Camila Ahumada, Animal Law specialist and APLA’s Impact Coordinator.
Ahumada noted that orangutans and pandas are social animals, condemning the idea that a specimen of this species would be brought to Chile to live in isolation.
The NGO reminded that these animals are adapted to specific environments like the mountainous forests of China, where temperatures range from 10 to 20 °C. When temperatures exceed 25 °C, they seek higher altitudes. Furthermore, they need to consume between 12 to 38 kilograms of bamboo daily.
Ahumada condemned the idea of bringing a panda without proper food, as bamboo is not produced in Chile, and forcing it to inhabit an «ecosystem that is not its own» and suffer in a «non-natural climate.»
Moreover, it was noted that Buin Zoo has recorded temperatures up to 36 °C in summer.
In an interview with La Metro FM, it was stated that animal rights concerns go beyond the conditions of the zoo to a discussion about the overall model.
«The pandemic exposed this fragility: Buin Zoo was closed for nearly two years and faced a severe financial crisis that, according to the institution itself, threatened the diet of over 2,500 animals by relying almost entirely on visitor income. This shows that when animal welfare depends on ticket sales, the problem is not just an economic crisis, but the fragility of the model itself,» they warned.
Animal rights activists underscored that there is a growing public opposition to Buin Zoo’s initiative, reflected in the number of supporters registered in the campaign «No to the Giant Panda at Buin Zoo. Chile Dreams of Protecting Its Native Wildlife», launched on Change.org.
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