disclose gorilla deal

[Guest guest]

Malaysiakini.com.

 

Wildlife watchdog asks M’sian, Nigerian authorities to disclose gorilla deal

 

 

Kevin Tan

8:07pm Mon Jun 10th, 2002

 

The Malaysian and Nigerian authorities involved in the controversial

transfer of four rare baby gorillas from the African country to a leading

Malaysian zoo, have been instructed by an international wildlife trade

regulatory body to facilitate its investigation into the matter.

 

<Picture>The secretariat of the Convention on the International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) is responsible for

overseeing the compliance of the convention among its 150-plus signatories

which include Malaysia and Nigeria.

 

“The secretariat has asked the Cites management authorities of Malaysia and

Nigeria for full information regarding the issuance of the permits,”

secretariat senior enforcement officer John M Sellar said in an e-mail

response to malaysiakini last week.

 

Following Taiping Zoo’s acquisition of four lowland gorillas from a Nigerian

zoo in January, conservationists and the international press highlighted the

possibility that the endangered animals could have been obtained from a

dubious source.

 

Lowland gorillas are listed on Appendix I of Cites which covers species that

are most endangered and threatened with extinction. Cites prohibits

commercial trade of such species.

 

According to Sellar, the secretariat has received some information on the

controversial transfer but needed further details.

 

“Until these are received, we are unable to assess whether the trade was

legal or not and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further,” he

said.

 

Zoo exchange programme

 

However, the Taiping Zoo authority clarified earlier that the four gorillas

were part of an exchange programme with University of Ibadan Zoological

Gardens.

 

According to the zoo’s director, Kevin Lazarus, Malaysian animals such as

Malayan tigers and Sun bears are exchanged for African animals such as

gorillas and duikers.

 

Last week, Malaysian Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) acting director for

enforcement and legislation Khairiah Mohd Shariff told malaysiakini that the

documents for the transfer of the gorillas are in order.

 

“We are not sure about [the Nigerian side], however. As far we are concerned

the documents are valid,” she said, reiterating that the Malaysian authority

issued an import permit for the gorillas for the purpose of the zoo exchange

programme.

 

While Kahiriah acknowledged the possibility that the gorillas have could

been illegally obtained as alleged, she said that it is not within the

Malaysian authority’s jurisdiction to probe the case on the Nigerian side.

 

“We’ll wait for the outcome of the investigations [of the Nigerian

authority],” she said.

 

Khairiah, who had in May visited the gorillas which are still under

quarantine, said the primates seemed healthy. She added that the Taiping

Zoo, aware of the hazard a certain ground pathogen poses to gorillas, had

treated the soil where the gorillas are kept.

 

When contacted today, Nigerian High Commissioner Ibrahim Yarima Abdullahi

confirmed that his country had started an investigation into the matter 10

days ago.

 

Endangered status well-known

 

Meanwhile, US-based International Primates Protection League president Dr

Shirley McGreal said the Malaysian authority should not have issued an

import permit for the transfer of the gorillas.

 

She also added that Taiping Zoo should never have requested for the

gorillas.

 

“The endangered status of gorillas is well-known worldwide. It is the

wildlife department's and the Taiping Zoo director's job to know this. It is

also widely known that all apes, including Malaysia's gibbons and

orangutans, are captured by mother-shooting,” McGreal told malaysiakini via

e-mail last week.

 

 

Related Articles

 

*Inquiry sought into trade in gorillas from Nigeria to Taiping Zoo

• Zoo clears the mist on transfer of Nigerian gorillas

• Nigerian conservationists urge return of 'poached' gorillas

• SAM seeks more info on Taiping Zoo’s gorillas 

 

 

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