Animal Diplomacy

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• The recent US–China bilateral meeting brought “panda diplomacy” back into focus, with China agreeing to loan two giant pandas to the United States.

Panda Diplomacy?

• Panda diplomacy refers to China’s long-standing practice of sending giant pandas to foreign countries as diplomatic gestures.
• It began in 1957, when China gifted pandas to the Soviet Union, followed by an exchange with the United States in 1972.
• Since 1984, China has stopped gifting pandas and instead leases them under long-term agreements, usually for 10 years.

Animal Diplomacy

• Animal diplomacy: Refers to the strategic use of animals as gifts, loans or national symbols to strengthen diplomatic relations, project soft power and foster goodwill between countries.
• Old Tradition: The practice dates back to Egyptian pharaohs sending African animals to ancient rulers in the Mediterranean.
  • The Roman Empire, too, was known to display exotic species to demonstrate the extent of its territorial control.
• Form of Soft Power: The donor country or government can project soft power by bypassing formal channels and directly appealing to the recipient country’s general public.
• Political Significance: Such an exchange signals that the donor trusts the recipient to prove a responsible host.
  • In cases of rare or endangered species, this places the onus of stewardship on the recipient with the expectation that it will ensure conservation of the animal(s) in an alien habitat. 
  • So, the well-being and health of these animals become the barometer of the diplomatic relationship itself.
• Indian Example of Animal Diplomacy: India-Namibia collaboration in 2022 under “Project Cheetah”. 
  • In subsequent years, two more batches of African cheetahs arrived from South Africa and Botswana. 
  • In 2026, India gifted five peacocks to the UN, to be housed at its European headquarters in Geneva. 

Source: IE