rfmcdonald | [BRIEF NOTE] On the costs and benefits of panda diplomacy in Canada (Reply)

Canada is the latest beneficiary of China's ancient strategy of "panda diplomacy". Canada is now in China's good books.

Canada set the seal on improving ties with China on Saturday by agreeing to a 10-year loan for two giant pandas, traditionally an indication of official approval from Beijing.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper witnessed the signing ceremony on the last day of a visit designed to sell Canadian oil and other resources to China. The pandas are the first to travel to Canada in more than two decades.

"The pandas' visit to Canada represents an important step forward in the blossoming relationship between our two peoples," he told a formal ceremony at Chongqing Zoo.

The two pandas - the male Er Shun, "Double Smoothness," and female Ji Li, "Successful and Pretty," - are expected to arrive in Canada early next year. They will split their 10-year sojourn between zoos in Calgary in western Canada and Toronto in the east.

Here in Toronto, blogTO columnist Robyn Urback questioned the logic of the panda gift, rooted in equal parts in skepticism about the cost-effectiveness of the project as a way to help the Toronto Zoo, concern that equal attention isn't being given to both Canadian endangered species and the well-being the pandas being shipped across the planet, and questions about the point of zoos.

Er Shun and Ji Li, perhaps the furriest embodiment of international exchange of late, are set to arrive at the Toronto Zoo in the spring of 2013. While their visitation is officially considered a "loan" (*snort*) the zoo will be making a $1 million "donation" to conservation efforts in China for each of the five years Er Shun and Ji Li will be chewing bamboo in our pens. Speaking of which, the cost just to feed them is expected to run upwards of $200,000 annually, on top of another $800,000 to renovate the home of the Siberian tiger to make it panda-friendly. On top of all that, there are additional costs for maintenance, specialized training for vets, zookeepers, and that salary for whatever poor PR person is charged with the task of reinforcing that this actually is a good idea.

Officials have said that they don't expect taxpayers to be on the hook for any of the cost, adding that the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus have both expressed interest in visiting the new panda exhibit. It should be noted that the City already contributes more than $11 million annually to keep the zoo up and running, all the while it continues to see decreases in visitor attendance. There was a five per cent in decline in attendance from 2010 to 2011, which, granted, was an improvement on the 12 per cent decline from 2009 to 2010.

The zoo, however, is banking on the attendance spike that tends to come with special exhibits, as was the case in 1985 when two giant pandas came to Toronto for a 100-day visit. Attendance broke all previous records during those 100 days, and the zoo saw approximately $13.7 million in revenue. But will it happen this time? Repeat spectacles don't do as well the second time around as a general rule, and this time — more than 25 years later — people are far more sensitive to issues of keeping wildlife in captivity. As well, with a five-year window to gawk at the pandas (as opposed to just 100 days like last time) I don't expect visitors will be knocking down the doors on opening day.

Then there are a series of ethical questions, so just let me affix my bleeding heart for a moment. I, personally, have a few qualms with shipping animals across the world so we can allow our loose jaws to gawk, nevermind keeping them in captivity with no intention of natural re-integration and forcing them to mate so we can send China back a gift. There are plenty of endangered species in Canada that could use some zoo-sponsored attention, but of course, the Long-billed Curlew isn't quite as cute and cuddly as one of China's million-dollar pandas.

The general consensus in the comments seems to be that everyone wants pandas, mind. Whatever my qualms with panda diplomacy--ones articulated by Urback--I think I'll try to catch a glimpse while they're present. (Have you seen pandas before? I haven't. They look so cute ...)