Monday 3-20-2017 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time Greetings Supporters! Did you know that five years ago, The National Zoo was planning to return Mei Xiang for a more viable, fertile female panda? Mei Xiang narrowly escaped being returned in September 2012. She avoided it by giving birth to a cub that month. Unfortunately, that cub died in infancy. --- From “The Guardian” (17 Sept 2012): “Giant panda Mei Xiang gives birth to cub – and avoids return to China” Full article here: http://bit.ly/2nLQSAj After that cub died, there was a petition started to keep Mei Xiang & Tian Tian in Washington, D.C. It was signed by 516 people. They were worried that since Mei Xiang’s cub died, the panda pair would be sent back to China and replaced. --- From Care2 Petitions: “Keep Giant Pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian at the Smithsonian National Zoo”: Petition here: http://bit.ly/2ng0XYh --- From “The GW Hatchet” (24 Oct 2012): “New petition fights to keep panda parents in District”: Full article here: http://bit.ly/2mObEhN The National Zoo cannot deny their desire to breed more cubs. We know that this is the reason that they forcibly separated Bei Bei from his mother Mei Xiang a few weeks ago. Over 2,100 of us from all over the world have come together to rally against greed, cruelty & this forced separation of Bei Bei from his mother. To this day, neither panda is doing well. Bei Bei continues to look lost, sad & confused. He had a happy-go-lucky, playful, lively existence before. Now he is miserable. He climbs trees to try to see his beloved Mummy. The branches are thin & can barely support his weight & he could fall. He wall-walks to try to find any opening to get to Mummy. Just this past Saturday, he was vocalizing to her. And Mei Xiang was seen standing near his den door, which the zoo then cruelly closed. No human has the right to treat to these precious creatures this way. There are photos & videos galore on-line which show this sadness and stress. Channels such as Panda Bei Bei ( http://bit.ly/2ntVb62 ), Panda Mei Xiang ( http://bit.ly/2ng016c ) & Kate MP ( http://bit.ly/2ng4iqf ) have been showcasing the continual strain these animals are under. Today the petition was e-mailed again to zoo officials and administrators. The petition is also being printed & will be delivered by courier to the zoo as well. There is no reason that either of these animals needs to continue to be hurt. It is abhorrent that the zoo has chosen profit and their desire for more cubs to usurp these sentient beings, neither of whom were ready to separate. They made the decision for Mei Xiang, as opposed to her making the decision herself. And now both animals are paying the price, which is unacceptable to us. Sincerely, J.J. Medusa Washington, D.C., U.S.A. reunitepandas@hotmail.com