The Chinese government has spent millions of dollars donated by zoos in the United States for protecting pandas in the wild on a myriad of expenditures unrelated to conservation, according to a report.
A report by the New York Times, which combed through $86 million worth of financial reports between U.S. zoos and a pair of organizations run by the Chinese government over the past two decades, revealed that the money donated to China was instead used on apartment buildings, roads, and computers, among other things.
U.S. zoos pay about $1 million a year in exchange for hosting pandas. This arrangement is allowed due to a provision under the Endangered Species Act.
Fish and Wildlife Service regulators, who have raised concerns about the spending for
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