Visits to Giant Pandas to be curtailed

The number of visitors allowed per day to see the new giant panda couple in Macau will be limited by the government in order to give the animals time to adapt to their new home, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan Hoi Fan, announced yesterday.
Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam, named after the previous couple, will arrive in Macau on 30 April. The two pandas will then be quarantined for 30 days, after which – by 31 May or 1 June – they will be taken to the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion in Seac Pai Van Park.
“In the beginning, the number of entries to the Panda Pavilion will be limited because the pandas need time to adapt to their new home. After the limit is reached the people will have to come in the next day”, Sonia Chan explained during a press conference at Granja do Óscar, near Cheok Van, regarding the process of the arrival of the animals offered by the Central Government.
“The couple of pandas are a treasure offered by the Central Government.
They are perceived in Macau as ambassadors and a symbol of Mainland China. The fact that the revenue from the entries to the pavilion may increase is a factor that we are not considering; it’s not important”, Sonia Chan said.
Concerning the ‘old’ Hoi Hoi, there is not yet an official date for him to return to the Chengdu Panda Base.
J.S.F.