Fw: [gorillakeepers] Gorillas to Malayasia and beyond

[Guest guest]

-

" Jane t. R. Dewar " <jdewar

" Asian Animal Protection " <aapnet;

<gorillakeepers >; " primfocus " <primfocus;

<alloprimate >

Cc: " CESD A " <cesdewar

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 9:41 AM

[gorillakeepers] Gorillas to Malayasia and beyond

 

 

> I've been watching this Malaysian deal unfold for weeks/months now and I

am

> amazed that 4 gorillas (up to 6 were scheduled in the shipment, allegedly,

> but 2 must have died) managed to make it " legally " from Nigeria to South

> Africa to Malaysia, and no one bothered to check on one minor, yet crucial

> detail:

>

> The 4 babies allegedly were " captive bred " by the Ibadan Zoo in Nigeria,

> which has only one elderly female gorilla (the male died years ago). The

4

> babies are all under 2 or 4 years old.

>

> Since it's clear that CITES and Taiping Zoo and officials in South Africa

> let this thing pass, claiming " ignorance " or trust in the word of the

> documents stating the animals to be captive bred, why not post CITES

permits

> requests PUBLICLY so that anyone - not just gorilla fans like me - could

> point out that there is ***NO*** captive breeding of gorillas anywhere in

> Africa, let alone of the magical kind in which a lone 35+ year old female

> produces up to 6 babies in less than 2 years!

>

> Those babies should be returned to their country of origin, which is most

> likely Cameroon. If DNA shows they are indeed from Nigeria, it's most

> likely they are diehli gorillas, the rarest species on earth, making this

> entire affair even more criminal and shocking.

>

> And while they have not answered my request for information, I understand

> Howletts is planning on sending their 4 male gorillas to the Ragunan Zoo

in

> Indonesia in the near future. So, we have 2 gorilla deals happening at

> once - both cloaked in the " legitimacy " of the zoo world. But the people

I

> know in the real zoo world are shocked and outraged (as well they should

be)

> that gorillas are being used in such a manner, as legal tender to barter

> with in the name of conservation.

>

> Jane Dewar

> Founder Gorilla Haven

>

> -

> " yitze ling " <yitzeling

> <aapn >

> Wednesday, June 12, 2002 3:59 AM

> disclose gorilla deal

>

>

> >

> > 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

> >