FWD: Gorillas legally imported, says council chief

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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/10/15/nation/tpibest & sec=nation

 

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Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Gorillas legally imported, says council chief

By RASLAN BAHAROM and HILARY CHIEW

 

TAIPING: Municipal Council president Datuk Jamalludin Al Amini Ahmad said

foreign experts who doubted the ability of Taiping Zoo keepers to look after

four baby gorillas imported from Nigeria were welcome to inspect the animals.

 

However, he said the experts had to obtain permission from the Department of

Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

 

He said Taiping Zoo, which is managed by the council, had been in close

contact with Perhilitan since the baby gorillas arrived from Nigeria on Jan 18.

 

“Perhilitan is also working hard to ensure the animals are not taken back,” he

told a press conference, the first about the gorillas.

 

He also allayed fears that the soil conditions in Asia were unsuitable for the

animals since it is allegedly infected with the melioidosis bacteria.

 

“The zoo conducted three soil tests at the quarantine area and all showed that

the ground was free of the bacteria,” he said.

 

He also took a dig at some foreign non-governmental organisations that often

looked down on the ability of Third World countries to run their businesses.

 

“Where breeding in captivity is concerned, Taiping Zoo is the best in the

region,” he said.

 

Jamalludin also maintained that the animals were not smuggled from Nigeria as

previous newspaper reports suggested.

 

“It was done legally on a government-to-government basis between Nigeria and

Malaysia through proper procedures.

 

“How the Nigerian government got them (the baby gorillas), is up to them but we

brought them in legally, using legal documents,” he said apparently referring to

inferences that the animals were caught in the wild and not captive-bred ones as

declared in the export document.

 

In Petaling Jaya, the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry has

instructed Perhilitan to handle the transfer of the four baby gorillas

immediately.

 

A ministry spokesman said the instruction called for

 

immediate action to execute the three proposals announced by the minister on

Oct 9 and that & #8216;immediate & #8217; action would entail a reasonable working

days of between two weeks to a month.

 

Perhilitan director-general Musa Ismail confirmed that he had received the

letter and would consult the Cites (management handbook to carry out the

repatriation proces).

 

“As there is no precedence of this nature, we have to study the procedures on

how best to hand over the gorillas,” he added.

 

Conservationists had questioned the primates & #8217; identity, as the species

name listed on the official document indicated that the animals originated from

Cameroon and not Nigeria as claimed. Accurate species identification is

important to facilitate the eventual breeding programme.

 

Perhilitan & #8217;s Cites director Khairiah Mohd Shariff was quoted as saying

that it could cost more than RM100,000 to cover the transportation, special

enclosure en route and the handlers that would have to accompany the animals.

 

Meanwhile, Cites & #8217; investigation confirmed that the primates were captured

in the wild and that they were imported into Malaysia from Nigeria by Taiping

Zoo via falsified documents.

 

“Gorillas are so highly endangered that every criminal transaction such as the

one uncovered here can have an impact on their future,” said Cites

secretary-general Willem Wijnstekers in a press release.

 

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