Monday 5-22-2017 6:33 p.m. Eastern Time Today Bei Bei is 21 months old & the sad reality of the situation is that he is still alone & still pining for his mother Mei Xiang. In this attached video (taken just yesterday), you can see Bei Bei dangling from a tree, staring intently for his Mummy - and it's just too much. He is so sensitive & astute & you can just tell he is waiting, hoping, for some opening & some glimpse of hope. This is just so unbelievably sad & cruel. The fact that this separation has gone on for so long makes it even worse. It is bad enough that these animals are locked up in enclosures, yet the zoo has denied these innocent, voiceless creatures the only true happiness they have known - being together. In the past week, the signatures on this petition have tripled as a result of the recent press we have had & more & more people are supporting our cause. Here is some recent feedback that people have left, both here on the petition & also in the comments section of the recent Daily Mail article: Sylvia wrote: “These animals are being caused unnecessary suffering by the actions of man.” Sharon wrote: “Animals do not denote to a specific timescale for when they should or should be weaned. Clearly both animals are not easy for this process yet and any sort of animal friendly place would recognise this. I had good impression of this zoo before, but these actions are seriously detrimental to both the animals and the reputation. Zoos need to remember they rely of visitors and they will vote with their purse and feet if they feel that animals welfare is not a priority of the zoo. Seeing distressed animals, very clearly distressed animals, will mean visitors give you a miss. If the zoo doesn't acknowledge this as a mistake, they may find that the animal welfare is the very least of their problems.” Kate wrote: “They are already in captivity, why make it worse for them.” Deborah wrote: “To keep these two apart when their emotional well being is so dependent on one another is not in their best interest. Mothers know when it's time to cut the apron strings. Clearly it isn't yet.” Linda wrote: “Anyone following the SNZ panda cams can clearly see that Bei Bei is a lost, lonely confused little bear. If you have followed the cameras from his birth, you can see how his spirit has been broken since he was separated from Mei Xiang. Don't just show a few minutes of footage of Bei Bei playing with his jolly ball, show the other 23 hours when he is over eating, climbing the walls, trying to see out of a window, outgrowing that hammock, trying to climb out of his enclosure. Show me one video of any kind of human interaction since he was separated. He is in forced isolation. You can spin it however you want, but this is a panda in distress.” LadyJuly Joy wrote: “SNZ must cultivate compassion over profit. They need to prioritize first and foremost the best interest of their pandas for the health and mental well-being.” Nik wrote: “Cruel. It's hard enough to get pandas to breed. Can you imagine her distress if she has another baby? She may not want to bond. She's not a breeding machine. She's a mum who clearly still the wants her baby.” Trish wrote: “They are not in the wild so best husbandry practices for weaning in the wild is not good enough in this situation. The bears are in a pen and being alone in a pen is bad enough but these two bears are happy and enjoy each other's company and should remain as mother and son for as long as they remain happy. The only reason they are doing this is to breed pandas and that is reprehensible.” Jean wrote: “This zoo needs shutting down. It's just plain animal abuse. They should have let them separate naturally when both were ready but that would delay the breeding program and of course limit the visitor numbers, all eager to PAY to see a new cute baby panda. It's all about the cash these animals generate and the CEO's salary I suspect, rather than what's best for the animal.” Caroline wrote: “Maybe in the wild they live alone but in captivity animals need all the friends they can get when enclosed in their 'prison cells.' Having a companion helps them to get through their frustrating and boring day. Couldn't watch all of the video it was heart breaking and hope to hear they are reunited soon.” Tigger Bear wrote: “Sentient beings. Just like a human, a mother bear loves her child more than anything in this world The insanity of keeping the intelligent being captive is extremely cruel. Why take away her only happiness?” ------------ Sincerely, J.J. Medusa Washington, D.C., U.S.A. reunitepandas@hotmail.com https://twitter.com/jjmedusa