FWD: Four baby gorillas to be sent to S. Africa

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This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)

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Thursday, July 10, 2003

Four baby gorillas to be sent to S. Africa

BY RASLAN BAHAROM AND MAZNI MUSTAFA

 

TAIPING: The four baby gorillas which were illegally sourced from Nigeria by the

Taiping Zoo will be “surrendered” as soon as possible.

 

Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Jamalludin Al Amini Ahmad said

arrangements were being made with the Wildlife and National Parks Department to

have the animals transported out.

 

Science, Technology and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding had said

that the Cabinet had approved the decision to send the baby gorillas to the

National Zoological Gardens of South Africa in Pretoria under a bilateral

co-operation programme.

 

On September last year, the International Primate Protection League (IPPL)

claimed that the primates were illegally bought from a Nigerian at a cost of

US$1.6mil (RM6.08mil) which contravened the Convention of International Trade of

Endangered Species in which both Nigeria and Malaysia were signatories.

 

However, sources here said the council had only spent about RM300,000 to bring

the four baby gorillas here, inclusive of transport charges but excluding the

cost of maintaining them since their arrival at Taiping Zoo in February last

year.

 

On Tuesday, Law said that he was convinced that the zoo knew that the baby

gorillas were illegally sourced, adding that the controversy had tarnished the

country & #8217;s image as a member of the convention.

 

Law had said that some parties had deliberately misled him into approving the

import permit for the animalsand had asked the zoo to provide a full report on

its transaction with Nigeria.

 

Wildlife Department director of the Law and Enforcement division Misliah Mohd

Basir said the permit to import the animals was issued as the department had

been led to believe that the animals were not caught in the wild.

 

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