THE Margin has always been convinced of the link between sex and money, and further proof was received last week.

The giant pandas at Beijing Zoo are just about to enter their mating season but the zoo is short of money and has had to replace the pandas traditional fresh bamboo diet with a cheaper mix of beet, eggs, apples and carrots.

The change in diet has given the delicate pandas stomach ache and some experts fear this could disrupt the spring mating season for the endangered species.

Apparently plenty of bamboo makes it is easier for pandas to become pregnant.

Whatever. As only about 1,000 of the pandas are thought to survive in the wild the problem of Mou Mou having a headache is no laughing matter.