The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Panda-mania as furry friends arrive in Britain Posted: 05 Dec 2011 06:40 AM PST  A giant panda called Tian Tian (Sweetie) is seen in a travel crate at the airport in Edinburgh. – AFP pic Yang Guang (Sunshine) and Tian Tian (Sweetie) were welcomed to Scotland to the sound of bagpipes as their "Panda Express" plane touched down at Edinburgh Airport. The bears will spend 10 years on loan in the Scottish capital, a deal agreed after five years of high-level political and diplomatic negotiations. Politicians are stressing their importance to relations between Britain and China, while Scotland is hoping for a tourism boost in austere times. It is hoped the pandas will take advantage of a specially-built "tunnel of love" between their enclosures and breed new cubs that will help preserve the endangered species. The bears were given an in-flight meal of bamboo, apples, carrots and a special "panda cake" on their journey from Chengdu in southwest China. The duo were accompanied by two Chinese researchers who will help look after them until they adapt to their new life at Edinburgh Zoo. On arrival at the airport, Tian Tian was the first to get a blast of the chilly Scottish weather, and could be seen checking out her new surroundings through her clear-sided box. As dignitaries stood by on the tarmac, the pair were loaded onto trucks for the short journey to Edinburgh Zoo, where another bagpipe band dressed in kilts played traditional Scottish tunes to welcome them. Locals waved Scottish flags, while some even dressed in panda outfits to cheer their arrival. "As panda-mania hits Scotland, and we extend a warm Scottish welcome to Tian Tian and Yang Guang, I am delighted to have the opportunity to personally thank the Chinese government," said Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who is visiting China. "The great gift of these giant pandas symbolises the great and growing relationship between Scotland and China." The bears will spend a couple of weeks settling in before being put on public display, and Edinburgh Zoo has already reported a huge spike in ticket sales. The zoo is paying about US$1 million (RM3.14 million) a year to the Chinese authorities for the pandas. It has built two separate enclosures for the visitors, which are quite solitary, although they will be linked by the "tunnel of love" in anticipation of their hoped-for mating. Each area contains an indoor section and a large outdoor enclosure, comprising lots of plants, trees, a pond and somewhere for them to shelter from the sun, a spokeswoman for the zoo said. The pandas are expected to eat up to US$110,000 worth of bamboo a year, with the zoo growing 15 per cent and the rest imported from the Netherlands. As of December 16, visitors to the zoo will be able to look in on the outdoor enclosure, while Internet users can follow Yang Guang on hidden "panda-cams". Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the pandas' arrival was "a reflection of the strength of our relationship with China. "It shows that we can co-operate closely not only on commerce, but on a broad range of environmental and cultural issues as well." China is famed for its "panda diplomacy", using the endangered bears as diplomatic gifts to other countries. Just 1,600 remain in the wild in China, with some 300 others in captivity. The agreement to loan the creatures was announced in January following five years of negotiations, and experts from the China Wildlife Conservation Association gave the final go-ahead after a visit to Scotland in October. Animal welfare groups have condemned the agreement, saying that wild creatures suffer in captivity and serious efforts to help pandas would protect them in their native environment. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Hong Kong’s shark fin traders feel pressure to change Posted: 05 Dec 2011 01:53 AM PST  Photo taken on November 22, 2011, shows a man inside a shark fin store in Hong Kong. The owner of Shark's Fin City, a dried fin wholesaler in Hong Kong's quarter for all things shrivelled, says there are only a few people who know the truth about sharks, and he's one of them. – AFP pic Like many Hong Kong businessmen who trade in shark fins, Kwong Hung-kwan believes his industry is being targeted by an anti-Chinese conspiracy led by "Western" environmental groups like Greenpeace. Talk of a dramatic decline in shark populations around the world is rubbish, he says, dismissing research showing an eight-fold jump in threatened shark species since 2000. Experts agree that much of that rise is linked to increases in consumption of shark meat, especially fins used in traditional Chinese shark fin soup, an expensive staple at weddings and banquets in this southern Chinese city. "Shark fins represent our Chinese tradition. It used to be served only to royalty and is, even now, a very luxurious cuisine from the deep sea," Kwong said at his store in Hong Kong's Des Voeux Road area. The western end of Des Voeux Road and nearby Queen's Road West, not far from the Central business district, are a hive of musty shops selling a vast array of dried food from mushrooms to seahorses. It is ground zero for the global shark fin trade, with about 10,000 tonnes of dried fins imported every year, according to environmental group WWF. That's around half the world's total fin harvest. "For some people in the older generation like me, we depend on selling shark fins as our source of income," Kwong said. His fins come mainly from Spain and South America, but he will happily buy from anywhere, he said. Businessmen like Kwong and his neighbours on Des Voeux Road were shocked recently when the luxury Peninsula Hotels chain, owned by Asia's oldest hotel company, announced it was dropping shark fin from its menu as of January. Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd., Peninsula's parent, said the decision was made "in recognition of the threat facing the global shark population and in line with the company's sustainability vision". Conservationists applauded the move as a breakthrough in their long battle to get Asian consumers to "just say no" to shark fin soup. But some of those in the fin business were apoplectic. "It's not cruel at all killing sharks. There are so many sharks out there and if you don't kill them, they will kill you," said a Des Voeux Road fin seller who gave his name only as Chan. On the other hand, Wong Wai-man of Wing Hang Marine Products Ltd. acknowledged that times were changing and younger generations were more environmentally conscious about what they ate than older Hong Kong people. "Some people say shark fins are absolutely irreplaceable. But what happens when sharks one day become extinct or are illegal to catch? At the end of the day, we need alternatives," he said, suggesting birds' nests as a substitute. WWF-Hong Kong says the consumption of shark fins, which has grown as China's people have become more affluent, is a driving factor behind the threat to shark populations around the world. More than 180 species were considered threatened in 2010 compared with only 15 in 1996. About 73 million of the ancient predators, deemed essential to healthy marine ecosystems, are killed every year. An individual serving of shark fin soup includes about 30 grams (one ounce) of fin, and a 12-person bowl sells for HK$1,080 (about RM439.15). A kilogram (two pounds) of premium dried fin can fetch up to HK$10,000 in Hong Kong. On Des Voeux Road, giant dried shark fins are shop-window attractions, the bigger the better to draw in customers. Other major hotels in Hong Kong said they were reviewing their shark fin policies in the wake of the Peninsula's move, but few appeared ready to drop it from their menu entirely. Four Seasons Hotel spokeswoman Claire Blackshaw said that shark fin had been removed from the menu but was still available on request. "We are a popular venue for weddings so it gets requested quite a lot," she said. The Conrad, part of the Hilton group, the Nikko and Regal Hongkong hotels have similar policies, with some offering a choice of menus with and without shark fin dishes. The Peninsula's announcement coincided with a move from the European Commission to insist that all vessels fishing in EU waters, and EU vessels fishing elsewhere, land sharks with the fins still attached. "We want to eradicate the horrendous practice of shark finning and protect sharks much better," said Europe's fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki, referring to the common practice of cutting the fins off living sharks. Activists said a ban on finning would reduce the shark catch because fishing vessels would not be able to store as many fins in their freezers. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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