ENN: IPPL Protests Nigeria-Malaysia gorilla shipment

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IPPL Protests Nigeria-Malaysia gorilla shipment

 

From International Primate Protection League

Thursday, April 25, 2002

 

SUMMERVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, USA - The International Primate Protection

League has asked the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) and Malaysian and Nigerian wildlife authorities

to investigate the shipment of four young gorillas from Nigeria to Malaysia

in January 2002. The gorillas are presently residing at the Taiping Zoo.

Gorillas are a highly endangered species listed on Appendix I of CITES. This

is CITES' most restrictive category and all commercial trade is banned.

Gorillas live in groups. To catch baby gorillas for trade, mother gorillas

are shot and often the silverback male and other gorillas are also killed

while protecting their families.

 

On being tipped off that four gorillas had appeared at Taiping Zoo, the

International Protection League began an investigation of the circumstances.

On learning that a notorious Nigerian animal dealer might be involved, IPPL

contacted the Malaysian CITES unit and provided the unit with a copy of the

Nigerian dealer's price list which offered four baby gorillas for US $1.6

million dollars (it is not yet known whether this dealer was involved in the

transaction).

 

On 11 April 2002, Ms Khairiah Mohd Shariff, head of Malaysia's CITES unit,

informed IPPL that,

 

" The Department did issue import permits for the importation of gorillas for

zoo purposes last year. In fact the gorillas are already in Taiping Zoo. We

are taking steps to stop the importation of the other two gorillas. We are

now very concerned by what has been disclosed by you about the source of the

gorillas. We will investigate further and will take the

necessary action against the importer. We will keep you posted about this

case. "

 

IPPL has learned that the four gorillas may have been exported from Nigeria

on documents claiming that they were born in captivity at a new Nigerian

zoo. No Nigerian zoo has ever bred any gorilla. Further, there are only

200-250 members of the sub-species of gorilla found in Nigeria and a corner

of

Western Cameroon. If the gorillas belonged to this sub-species, there would

be no way for Nigerian authorities to make a finding that the animals were

obtained legally and in a way not detrimental to the survival of their

species in the wild. Such a finding is required by the terms of CITES.

 

Another and more likely possibility is that the gorillas were illegally

caught from the forest in Cameroon and " laundered " by smugglers across the

Cameroon-Nigeria border. This suspicion is increased by the confiscation on

22 April of two baby chimpanzees from smugglers on the border between

Cameroon and Nigeria. The chimps were on their way to Lagos, Nigeria, and

may have been intended for export. The sick babies are now residing at a

rescue center operated by the group Pandrillus.

 

In 17 April response to an IPPL enquiry, Kevin Lazarus, director of the

Taiping Zoo, informed IPPL that,

 

" We feel that there should be a good stable group of gorillas in South East

Asia as there is none at the moment. It will help in captive breeding of

these animals. It will also be good for education as well as to create

awareness about the need for conservation, the realities of bush meat trade

etc. "

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman of the International Primate Protection

League, commented,

 

" IPPL is shocked at the zoo director claiming that gorillas should be moved

from Africa to Malaysia. The animals are young and may well die before

reaching maturity. Most of the gorillas imported to Asia have died of a

ground pathogen called pseudomonas pseudomallei and we worry about these

young animals. Further, there is no guarantee they will breed. The sad

reality is that, in acquiring what were certainly wild-caught gorillas, the

Taiping Zoo was acting in a species-destructive manner and it is very

likely that the mother gorillas were eaten after being shot, which would

mean that the zoo was participating in the bushmeat trade it deplores. "

 

She added that,

 

" Rather than seeking to further conservation by acquiring members of a

highly endangered species illegally removed from the wild, Taiping Zoo (and

other Asian zoos) should be working to protect orangutans, leaf monkeys and

other endangered species resident to Southeast Asia. CITES was designed to

prevent exactly the kind of transaction represented by this gorilla deal. "

 

Should the gorillas be confiscated by Malaysian authorities, CITES

recommends as the first option their return to their country of origin.

Pandrillus has sanctuaries in both Nigeria and Cameroon and could provide an

appropriate home for the animals once their DNA had been studied to

determine their species.

 

Nigeria has long been a pipeline for the smuggling of endangered wildlife

out of Africa. IPPL calls this smuggling route " The Nigerian Connection. " In

September 2001, a baby gorilla and baby chimpanzee arriving on a flight from

Nigeria to Cairo were confiscated by Egyptian authorities and drowned in a

vat of chemicals because Egyptian officials thought the babies might

be carrying diseases. In 2001 two chimpanzees exported from Nigeria were

seized at Doha Airport, Qatar, and returned to an African sanctuary. In 1995

an infant gorilla was confiscated from smugglers at Manila Airport but died

before he could be returned to an African sanctuary.

 

 

For more information, contact:

Dr. Shirley McGreal

International Primate Protection League

Tel: 843-871-2280

ippl

Web site: http://www.ippl.org