Cash-strapped Finnish zoo may have to return giant pandas to China

    HELSINKI --- A cash-strapped Finnish zoo said on Friday it was preparing to return two giant pandas on loan from China as it could no longer afford their upkeep. The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, were brought to Finland in January 2018, nine months after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic country and signed a joint agreement on protecting the animals. Ahtari Zoo, a private company which had hoped the pandas would bring visitors to the central Finland location, said it had instead accumulated mounting debts as the pandemic curbed travel. Finland's government, which gave one-off support of 200,000 euros in 2021, declined an application for a 5 m...

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