Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, the Netherlands, sent off Lang Yue, a giant panda born in 2024, on 30 October. She is to join China's breeding programme, and the zoo says there was no diplomatic pressure behind the move.
According to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen held a farewell for Lang Yue, born in 2024, on the morning of 30 October. Keepers watched her walk into a transport crate she had been trained to use, and the truck left under police escort for Schiphol.
광고 문의 · 300×250China's CGTN reported that nearly 100 local residents gathered to see her off. NOS said dozens of Rhenen primary schoolchildren in orange caps with panda ears waved, and a traditional Chinese dragon and lion dance was performed. The children did not see Lang Yue herself, as she was already in the crate.
The rule on returning before age four
DutchNews reported that Lang Yue was born on 12 July 2024 to Wu Wen and Xing Ya, a pair that arrived from China in 2017. Under an agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, pandas born outside China must move there before their fourth birthday. Her older sister Fan Xing, born in May 2020, went to China in September 2023.
Lang Yue will join China's breeding programme. Her parents remain in Rhenen, and the zoo says it hopes they will breed again. NOS reported that Rhenen mayor Geran Kaai said she will always remain a little bit theirs, and keeper Brenda van Ekeren said that when the crate door closed it felt definitively final.
Different views on panda diplomacy
In a NOS current affairs report, the zoo's director said it has always had good contact with its Chinese counterparts and has never received a call about a problem. The zoo is reported to pay about $1 million a year toward conservation in China. A sinologist described panda diplomacy as soft power meant to improve China's image, while the Dutch Party for the Animals criticised the deal as using animals for diplomacy.
The Chinese side describes giant panda cooperation as part of conservation research, while the Dutch zoo stresses a routine return under an agreement rather than pressure. What the accounts share is that the move follows the rule; which Chinese facility Lang Yue will go to was not stated in the reports reviewed.