Nigeria-Malaysia Gorilla Deal

[Guest guest]

I received this just before leaving on family business (death in my family) ...

But in case you missed it, here is the official statement from the zoo world

about the Nigerian Zoo sending " captive born??? " gorillas to Taiping, Malaysia

....

 

Jane Dewar

Founder Gorilla Haven

www.gorilla-haven.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

World Association

of Zoos and Aquariums

 

 

 

MEDIA RELEASE

MEDIENMITTEILUNG

COMMUNICATION DE MÉDIAS

Bern, 20.06. 2002 FOR RELEASE on 20 JUNE 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) worried about gorilla

transfer

 

There are concerns about a transfer of four gorillas, which recently were sent

from Nigeria to Malaysia. While the animals were accompanied by export permits,

there is strong evidence that information contained in these permits is not

correct. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is worried that by

this transaction the Code of Ethics adopted by the association and its members

may have been violated and cooperates with the relevant authorities to

investigate the matter.

 

Taiping Zoo of Malaysia has recently imported two pairs of gorillas from Ibadan

University and Zoological Gardens in Nigeria. The gorilla is an endangered

species and is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The animals concerned were

accompanied by CITES export and import permits issued by the relevant

authorities of Nigeria and Malaysia and allowing the transfer of captive bred

gorillas to Taiping.

 

As Ibadan never has had a breeding group of gorillas it is very unlikely they

have been bred there, and WAZA has to assume they were not from Ibadan and were

likely to be wild caught.

 

Members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have agreed to a

strict Code of Ethics which guarantees the highest standard of care for the

animals in their trust and to animals in general. The Code requests also that

zoos acquiring animals be confident that such acquisitions will not be in

violation of national or international law and will not have a deleterious

effect upon the wild population. In case of doubt about the validity of a

certificate issued under CITES, zoos should use all sources of information to

ensure that all regulations have been respected.

 

Cooperative gorilla breeding programs are operated at a regional level by zoo

associations belonging to the WAZA network. They have a growing population of

gorillas and enough founder members to insure a genetically healthy population

in the foreseeable future. The coordinators of these programs were not consulted

by Taping Zoo when they decided to acquire the animals from Nigeria.

 

Taiping Zoo is not a member of WAZA but is linked to it through a member

regional association. WAZA is investigating the case and is co-operating to this

effect with the regional association concerned and with the CITES Secretariat in

Geneva. Many other zoos, while not members of WAZA themselves belong to a

regional association which has agreed to this code and in this way the influence

of the code is widened.

 

Those associations and zoological institutions, which do not adhere to a strict

code of ethics and to international law, have no place in our organization or in

the professional zoo community.

 

Dr. Alex Rübel, WAZA President

 

- E N D S -

 

For further information please contact

 

o Peter Dollinger, Executive Director, World Association of Zoos and

Aquaria, Executive Office, Tel: ++41-31-300 20 30, Fax ++41-31-300 20 31, Email:

waza.director

 

Notes to Editors

 

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) was founded in 1946 in

Rotterdam as International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens. It promotes

effective stewardship of the natural world by encouraging its members to bring

people close to living animals, applying and advancing in situ and ex situ

conservation, science and education, and setting standards of excellence in

animal welfare and environmental responsibilities. WAZA unifies close to 200

major zoos (institutional members) and 16 regional or national federations

representing another 800 zoos and aquariums. The headquarters of the

organisation are located at Berne, Switzerland.

 

There is an International studbook for gorillas kept by Frankfurt Zoo, and there

are important cooperative breeding programmes at the regional level run by the

American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and by the European Association

of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).