According to an investigation by the New York Times, millions of dollars intended for giant panda conservation have been mismanaged, revealing cracks in the system that safeguards our world's most vulnerable species.
As you may know, zoos across the United States have housed and exhibited pandas on loan from China for years -- a display of global unity and conservation education efforts. In return, these U.S. zoos have raised money and sent those funds back to China to exclusively be put towards "protecting pandas in the wild."
But apparently, those funds have also been used on things like "apartment buildings, roads, computers, museums and other expenses," in utter disregard for the giant panda's survival as a species!
Sign the petition to demand that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service properly enforce the Endangered Species Act!
This investigative report peels back the layers of a longstanding issue within wildlife conservation funding: a lack of transparency and accountability that compromises the very goals of the Endangered Species Act. Without stricter enforcement of this act, the future of conservation efforts hangs in the balance.
Despite U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's awareness of the misuse of funds for years, the agency repeatedly loosened oversight and allowed substantial sums of money to be sent to China without accountability.
This situation has created a system where American zoos, fearing a fracturing in the partnership with China and the loss of their beloved pandas, comply with paying large sums that fail to reach conservation activities.
Sign the petition to demand the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ensure these funds directly benefit the species they are meant to protect!
