Panda prisons

After months of stories about love tunnels, hormone changes, mood music and panda porn, such diversionary tales are now exposed as crass attempts to boost publicity for Edinburgh Zoo and increase flagging visitor numbers.

Some zoos try to hoodwink the public into thinking they  are doing something worthwhile by warehousing endangered species, but they are not.

Only one zoo-reared panda has ever been reintroduced into the wild – and that unfortunate animal died within months.

Anyone who genuinely cares about the future of  pandas and other endangered animals should steer clear of zoos, which started as menageries that took an enormous toll on wildlife, both during capture and transport from foreign lands, and have become boring little prisons.

Instead, compassionate people should donate the entry fee to genuine protection programmes in the animals’ natural homelands, like anti-poaching patrols and habitat preservation.

Ben Williamson

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

London