Zoos competing to secure animals brush off political concerns and say facilities are nearly ready
Two giant pandas - a gift from Beijing rejected by Taipei nearly a year ago - could be in Taiwan as early as six months from now, it was revealed yesterday.
Wayne Wu, sales and marketing director of the Leofoo Safari Park in Hsinchu county, said his zoo would apply again to the Council of Agriculture to bring the pandas to the island. 'We are planning to apply as early as next month when our panda house is finished,' said Mr Wu, adding that nearly NT$100 million (HK$23.6 million) had been spent on the panda project.
'We have also sent workers to Sichuan's Wolong Panda Reserve to learn about panda breeding and medical care skills.'
In March last year, Taiwan's Council of Agriculture said applications by Leofoo and the Taipei Municipal Zoo to bring the pandas to the island were turned down because the organisations had not completed breeding facilities or trained workers to care for the mammals.
But critics say the main reason was that the animals had been named Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan by Beijing, after the Chinese word tuanyuan, which means reunion. The names were criticised by independence-leaning politicians.
As a private-owned zoo, Mr Wu said Leofoo's application was not a political burden, compared with that of the a municipal zoo.