OTTAWA, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Panda politics has resulted in an agreement allowing Canada to pay an unspecified amount to adopt two giant pandas from China, authorities say.
The agreement was negotiated between Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice, China's State Forestry Administrator Jia Zhibang and Canadian Ambassador David Mulroney with other officials, and it states zoos in Calgary, Toronto and Granby, Quebec, will each receive the two animals for 18 to 24 months beginning in 2011, Postmedia News reported Sunday.
"I will pick out a couple of nice pandas for Canada," Jia told Prentice at the end of the meeting.
The chairman of the Panda Acquisition Task Force at the Toronto Zoo said the "adoption" or loan price between governments can go as high as $1 million per panda, but "special friends" can sometimes broker a fee that can go for almost half that, Postmedia said.
"It is an indication of just how far we've come in terms of the relationship. The Chinese are very careful about the pandas and where they allow long-term transfers," Prentice said.
"The Chinese government will be very attentive to the care that is being provided for the pandas and the quality of the facilities that will be constructed and the safety of the bears."
