I think we can all get behind the excellent news that Tian Tian, Edinburgh Zoo's star panda attraction is expected to be giving birth soon.

This heartwarming story however carries a serious and worrying undertone. Is the loan system fair? Should cash rich Chinese mega zoos be able to buy up and then loan out promising youngsters to other zoos, only to then reap the reward at the end of the loan period.

Beijing Zoo owner Lao Tzoo had this to say 'With, for example, a panda like Chi Chi, who made three or four appearances, we made a fantastic profit. There are other pandas that belong to Beijing Zoo who maybe won’t eat a single shoot for us, so we’ll sell them.”

He continued "We had to organise ourselves in a different way. It wasn’t me, it was before me, but the Zoo was doing fantastic work in this area; Chi Chi, Ya Ya, Skip, Thorgan Hazard.
Lots of young pandas, not all of them, will have a career at Beijing Zoo but all of them are important in this new financial situation. We have worked very well and probably started doing it before other zoos."

So, is the loan system fair?

Do you like baby pandas?