The State Forestry Administration (SFA), Beijing, said conditions covering the leasing of giant pandas to zoos by research centers need to be tightened after a remarkable number of animals died as no proper care of them was taken.

SFA, the country's wildlife watchdog, said in a statement that some strict supervision of the conditions in which pandas are kept will be introduced.

In a statement released on June 29, the administration said that pandas are seen as the flagship of global wildlife protection efforts. They are supposed to have a positive impact, promoting awareness, knowledge and concepts in terms of wildlife and environmental protection.

The administration said that the zoos should not make a profit from photos taken with pandas or while feeding them.

The SFA in last May conducted a nationwide inspection of the panda leasing system and found several flaws in it. It found that some lease arrangements were stopped where it was found that the animals were being displayed in inappropriate ways or were being exploited to make money.

There were 394 captive pandas in China at the end of January. The Wolong National Nature Reserve at Wenchuan, Sichuan province has 201, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan has 140, and the rest are in Shaanxi.

It has been found that the Chengdu base has lent 30 pandas to 14 zoos in the country, while Wolong leases 69 pandas for display at more than 30 zoos.

Zhang Zhihe, the head of the Chengdu base, said, "There is a set procedure to follow, but we have seen violations where the enclosure, keeper, veterinarian or food supply chain did not meet the required standards".