A raccoon in Fuzhou Zoo in east China's Fujian Province has been "adopted" by a couple in the city under a new scheme run by the animal attraction.

The raccoon joined two green peafowl and two red-crowned cranes to be the first batch of animals from the zoo to be adopted by local residents. 

The scheme has been launched to raise money for improvements at the zoo, and to raise awareness about animal welfare.

The new parents are allowed to visit their adopted animals for free, and they have the right to know all about their lives at the zoo.

Zheng Yunchao, the "mother" of the raccoon, said that she and her husband had the adoption idea a long time ago.

"I have liked raccoons ever since I was a young girl," Zheng said. She and her husband often went to the zoo to see the animals, native to North America, before adopting.

The couple donated 300 yuan (US$36) to the zoo to adopt the raccoon for a year.

Last Saturday, the couple for the first time entered the raccoon's cage and were allowed to stroke it.

So far, the public adoption initiative, which started this month, has attracted many animal-lovers in the city.

Some 30 students from the accounting department of Fujian Finance Vocational Technology College collected 600 yuan (US$72) to adopt two red-crowned cranes.

The students said that they will pass the adoption to younger students after a year.

They say all of them will take good care of the two cranes, which belong to a very rare species in the world.

"We want to attract more public attention to animal protection through this activity (adoption)," said Chen Guichun, director with the administration department at the zoo.

According to Chen, all the 907 animals in the zoo, including some rare species like the South China tiger, Asiatic elephant and golden cat, are up for adoption.

The charge ranges from 100 to 500 yuan (US$12 to US$ 60) per year, except for some rare animals which could cost between 800 and 1,000 yuan (US$96 to US$120).

All the money will be spent on scientific research and on improvements to the zoo's cages, Chen said.

"Besides protection for animals, each zoo has a responsibility to popularize science," said Chen.

The money accounts for only a tiny fraction of the zoo's budget, he added.

It spends more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000) each year on everyday expenses, said Chen.

"We hope more warm-hearted people and enterprises will join the scheme and contribute to the reconstruction of the 49-year-old zoo."

The zoo is also planning a series of interesting activities, such as letting sponsors get even closer to their animals, he added.

Public adoption became popular in the late 1990s in zoos in several Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, in South China's Guangdong Province, and Chengdu, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

(China Daily March 31, 2005)