Washington’s most beloved toddler won’t be sent to an unfamiliar country to participate in a forced breeding program. At least not yet. The irrepressibly cute Tai Shan, who turns two on July 2, has been given a reprieve by the Chinese government and will be staying at the National Zoo, at least for a while. Though the cub is a natural-born citizen of the U.S., an agreement with China says that any offspring from the zoo’s panda couple will be sent to China on their second birthday. Butterstick’s parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, came to D.C. in 2000 on a 10-year loan agreement. The new deal, announced by Mayor Fenty and Chinese ambassador Zhou Wenzhong this morning, means the cub can stay here for two more years. He won’t be needed for breeding in China’s panda conservation program until he’s at least five years old.

As we decried earlier this month, Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from a panda from San Diego on April 5. It’s still unclear whether we’ll have a Little Butterstick (Pat?) joining the happy panda family anytime soon.

The decision thankfully postpones inevitable protests of Elian-like proportions. D.C. loves ‘stick; in fact, over 1 million folks have come to see him since his public debut in December 2005. Even though his destiny as a Chinese stud was written even before he was conceived, we can’t help but feel strange about handing a helpless baby over to a communist country as part of a eugenics program. Sure, sure, we know it’s all in the name of saving pandas, who don’t seem too concerned with replenishing their own species, but our fingers are still crossed that some arrangement can be made to find Tai Shan a nice American girl to settle down with. After all, what’s a better pick-me-up on a gray, tedious day than Panda Cam?

Photo by Flickr user clarissa.