Against Exploitation & Display of Pandas by Vegas Casino

To:  Mike Ensign, CEO

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary: ain Entry: 2ex·ploit –pronounced ik-‘sploit, ‘ek-”
To make use of meanly or unjustly for one’s own advantage.

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas is currently drawing up plans for a $10 million dollar glass enclosed pavilion in which it plans to house two giant pandas—an endangered species with an existing population of less than 1,000.

It is possible that Mandalay Bay Resort will never be able to follow through with these plans; however, they have millions of dollars—and the power that goes with it—to put into the effort to house two giant pandas at their casino.

Mandalay Bay Resort is negotiating with China to try and get two giant pandas for this exhibit. Pandas are protected by the Endangered Species Act, as well as the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species. Fish and Wildlife officials, as well as the Chinese government, have developed policies to discourage the commercial exploitation of pandas. However, the time has come when a big corporation is attempting to do just that—exploit giant pandas.

Mandalay Bay Resort has hinted to China that they could make over $50 million a year from this exhibit, and that much of these funds will be donated to the Chinese. These funds would be used to promote conservation of pandas; however, that is clearly not the casino’s main concern.

Panda bears are extremely popular, and have a tendency to “draw huge crowds and generate substantial revenue for zoos that can rent them”. In fact, zoos and theme parks were so desperate to house pandas that in the early 1990s the Fish and Wildlife Service, pressured by conservationists, imposed a five-year moratorium on panda imports.

The panda bear display would be a huge draw for Mandalay Resorts, increasing their already-high revenues greatly. People coming to see the panda bears would presumably be sucked in to exploring the casinos and restaurants, and spending their money there, also.

I believe that the money generated from the display would be good for panda bears. However, there are other ways of generating money for the cause of the pandas besides allowing a casino to build them a home and putting them on display like an exhibit in a circus!

Currently, Mandalay Resorts is in competition with the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, and the Oakland Park Zoo in California. Keep in mind that zoos can benefit greatly from housing pandas. If they must be put on display, I believe a zoo would be a less harsh environment than an exhibit from Mandalay Resorts. Instead of a casino profiting from them, zoos should be the ones to profit from increased revenues.

Please sign this petition, and help to put a stop to the exploitation of giant pandas in Las Vegas by Mandalay Bay Resorts.


Thank you.

The text of the letter which will be sent to the CEO of Mandalay Bay Resorts is as follows:

Dear Mr. Ensign and Mr. Richardson:
I believe Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s proposed plan of building a glass-enclosed pavilion in which to display giant pandas is despicable.

While I feel that your offer to donate funds accumulated as a result of public viewing of giant pandas is admirable, the fact remains that pandas are an endangered species. A number of less than one thousand is estimated to exist. We protest the exploitation these animals would encounter at your hands. I feel very strongly that the last place for an endangered species is in a casino.

Although having the attraction of two giant panda bears in residence at your casino would be a considerable draw and undoubtedly earn you many hundreds of thousands of dollars, endangered species are not something to be put on display and should be protected from all attempts at exploitation. The threat to the existence of this species is very real, and your proposed idea of displaying panda bears in a glass pavilion will merely hurt a cause which many citizens take very seriously—that of the survival of a precious species facing extinction.

I urge you to reconsider this proposal. Please do not exploit giant panda bears by building a display for Mandalay Bay & Resorts.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Against Exploitation & Display of Pandas by Vegas Casino Petition to Mike Ensign, CEO was created by and written by Ashley Rogers.  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no express or implied endorsement of this petition by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. The petition scripts are created by Mike Wheeler at Artifice, Inc.  For Technical Support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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