Edinburgh Zoo has been accused by animal welfare groups of putting profit before the care of its pandas.

The outcry came followed the launch of a new Panda Keeper experience at the complex, which allows visitors to see a private area of the animals' enclosure that is usually off-limits.

Priced at £1000, the hour-long visit for up to four people includes drinks and canapes, a meeting with a panda keeper to learn about their work, and the chance for participants to feed the pandas by hand.

Liz Tyson, director of the Captive Animals Protection Society (Caps), said: "It seems there is no end to the lengths the zoo will go to to squeeze every last penny out of the panda deal. Edinburgh Zoo was at pains to insist from the outset the purpose of the pandas' stay was conservation, while Government officials were more willing to admit it was "primarily a commercial transaction".

"With each new panda promotion, deal or visitor package churned out by the zoo's PR department, the dubious claims of conservation benefit seem more and more disingenuous.

"Our overriding concern is for the well-being of the pandas themselves. Subjecting these famously solitary animals to even more scrutiny, and at close quarters, clearly indicates that the zoo is putting profit before the pandas' welfare."

Will Travers, of the Born Free Foundation, said: "It's shameful. Not content with having the animals on show during opening hours, they are now on show into the evening for people who mistakenly think a panda close encounter, plus drinks and canapes, has anything to do with real conservation."

Professor Chris West, chief executive of Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs Edinburgh Zoo, said: "We are delighted to give panda lovers the chance to get closer to Tian Tian and Yang Guang. As conservation experts, animal welfare is always in the foremost of our minds.

"A very limited number of Panda Keeper Experiences will take place per month – between two to four – and the cost reflects the exclusivity."

The pandas arrived in Scotland from the Ya'an reserve in Chengdu in December 2011 and will live at the zoo for 10 years. At the time, a spokesman replied to criticism the zoo was putting money ahead of the welfare of the pandas by stating that it was run by a charity and nothing it did was commercial. The zoo is to pay £600,000 to the Chinese authorities each year for the pandas. It was hoped visitor numbers would rise by 70% in the first year of the pandas arriving.

Meanwhile, a rare bird has escaped from the zoo and is on the loose in the city. Keepers noticed the scarlet ibis was missing yesterday morning and it was later spotted in Dundas Street.

It is believed to have escaped through a hole in the netting on its enclosure.

l Berlin Zoo's male giant panda Bao Bao, one of the oldest in the world, has died aged 34.