CITES and T-4 case

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Mr. Sellar, for the detailed response to the case of the Taiping

4 gorillas.

 

One thing still concerns me and many others... You wrote:

 

" The Secretariat can, of course, not decide on this important aspect and has

not entered the debate

on this aspect of the case. It is conscious that the text of the Convention

and the relevant Resolution make plain that the decision rests with the

State of confiscation, i.e. Malaysia. "

 

What if there were criminal misdeeds with the CITES officials in

Malaysia??????? Sure, they are claiming they were duped or mislead, but so

did both Ibadan and Taiping Zoos when first challenged with the legality of

this case. Who's investigating the CITES teams in the 3 countries involved

in this illegal shipment???

 

If corrupt CITES officials in Malaysia allowed these gorillas to reach

Taiping, it seems likely they'd want to send them to Pretoria zoo with that

" bilateral cooperation agreement " clause - whatever that is - in which case,

where's the justice?

 

Couldn't/shouldn't an outside, impartial committee be involved???

 

Thanks for your further clarification.

 

Jane Dewar

 

-

" John Sellar " <john.sellar

" Shirley McGreal " <smcgreal; " WAZA Director "

<waza.director

Cc: " Jane T. R. Dewar " <jdewar; " Asian Animal Protection "

<aapn >; " primfocus " <primfocus; " CESD A "

<cesdewar; <gorillakeepers >;

<alloprimate >; " Willie Labuschagne Pretoria SA "

<wlab; " Hope Walker " <gorillas;

<gorillakeepers >; " Doug Cress PASA " <ApeAction;

" New Limbe " <Limbewc; " Michael Hutchins AZA " <MHutchins;

<waza.director; " Pandrillus Limbe " <drill; " Hilary

Chiew Taiping Star " <hnchiew; " Christian Schmidt EEP "

<christian.schmidt.zoo; " Mr. Law Taiping "

<lhd; " Pisit na Patalung " <seaza; " Koen

Brouwer " <koen.brouwer; <Karen Sausman

Wednesday, July 30, 2003 9:07 AM

 

 

> <KASTLD,

> " Gordon McGregor Reid " <gordonr,

> " Ed McAlister " <emcalister,

> " Bill Dennler " <sally.albert,

> =?iso-8859-1?Q?Alex_R=FCbel?= <alex.ruebel,

> <hnchiew, <pj-mar, <primfocus,

> <PASAapes, " David M. Jones " <david.m.jones,

> " Fidelis Odiakaose " <fedelodomeni, <musa,

> <pakp

> X-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new

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>

> Dear Sir/Madam,

>

> Please find below a copy of a statement that will be posted on the CITES

> Secretariat's website today. We are attempting to provide this to all

those

> who have expressed an interest in this matter and who have contacted the

> Secretariat (or whose messages have been copied to the Secretariat). We

> apologize if any person or organization has been omitted. Please feel

free

> to forward this message as you wish.

>

> We trust that this information will address some of the points raised and

> will also clarify the role of the Secretariat.

>

>

>

> Illegally traded gorillas - the 'Taiping Four'

> CITES Secretary-General calls for prosecutions of those involved in the

> illegal trade of gorillas

> In response to many messages of concern that the Secretariat has received,

> the Secretary-General of CITES, Willem Wijnstekers, issued the following

> statement today.

> " I firmly believe that the fact that a determined and criminal attempt to

> supply animals illegally taken from the wild was foiled sends a very clear

> message to those who may wish to trade illicitly in wildlife that CITES is

> determined that they will not succeed. I trust that prosecutions will take

> place in Malaysia and Nigeria to reinforce this message. I hope,

regardless

> of their final destination, that the gorillas will enjoy stable, healthy

and

> long lives and that they can act as ambassadors for their species to help

> graphically illustrate the risks posed to endangered species by illegal

> trade in wildlife and to encourage governments, relevant organizations and

> the public to support the conservation of wildlife. Although it is

extremely

> regrettable that this incident ever occurred, I believe that it has

provided

> valuable lessons from which everyone involved in CITES must learn. "

> Background

> In early 2002, the CITES Secretariat was alerted to an incident involving

> four juvenile gorillas that had been transported from Nigeria to Malaysia,

> via South Africa. Although the export from Nigeria and import to Malaysia

> was authorized by the CITES Management Authorities of both countries and

> genuine permits required by the Convention accompanied the shipment, there

> appeared to be reasonable grounds to suspect that the movement was not in

> conformity with the provisions of CITES.

> The authorizing documents recorded the animals as having been bred in

> captivity in a zoo in Nigeria. It was said that the animals were part of

an

> exchange programme between the University of Ibadan Zoological Gardens in

> Nigeria and Taiping Zoo in Malaysia. Information received by the

Secretariat

> from a non-governmental organization (the International Primate Protection

> League) indicated that the declaration of the gorillas as having been

> captive-bred might be false. The Secretariat then asked the CITES

Management

> Authorities of Malaysia and Nigeria to investigate this information and

> advise it of the result of those investigations. South Africa was asked to

> comment on the circumstances relating to the transit of the gorillas

through

> that country. The Secretariat also independently reviewed information it

> collected about the matter.

> It became clear at an early stage that the animals in question could not

> have been bred in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, since that facility

has

> no gorillas capable of producing offspring. The role of an intermediary

> company, based in Malaysia but seemingly with connections to Nigeria,

which

> apparently facilitated the acquisition of the animals and their movement,

> was highly suspicious; involving fraudulent actions and payments of money

> that would not normally be expected in a genuine exchange of specimens

> between zoological institutions.

> The Secretariat encouraged the authorities in Malaysia to seize the

animals

> and this was done.

> The Secretariat has devoted considerable time and resources to the review

of

> this incident. It has supplied its own technical expertise and advice to

the

> authorities in Malaysia, Nigeria and South Africa. This included briefing

a

> Commission of Inquiry established by the President of Nigeria and personal

> communication between the Secretary-General of CITES and government

> officials in Malaysia and Nigeria, to ministerial level. It passed to the

> relevant Parties advice and suggestions received from non-governmental

> organizations, individuals with expertise in primates, and also the

general

> public (which showed considerable interest in the case). The Secretariat

is

> grateful to these organizations and persons for responding to requests for

> information or for providing it voluntarily.

> It understands that the Commission of Inquiry in Nigeria has confirmed the

> Secretariat's suspicions that corrupt actions by officials may have played

a

> part in the export of the animals from that country. It understands that

> South Africa has amended the way in which its CITES Management Authority

> will monitor shipments in transit. The Secretariat also understands that

> investigations continue in Malaysia to identify those persons who acted

> improperly or criminally there.

> The Secretariat's study of this case has left it in no doubt that there wa

s

> considerable criminality involved in Malaysia and Nigeria that led to the

> illegal movement of the gorillas. It believes much work remains to be done

> to bring the culprits to justice. The Secretariat, and in particular the

> Secretary-General, has communicated frankly with the Governments of

Malaysia

> and Nigeria to express concerns regarding a number of aspects of the case.

> Aside from bringing offenders to justice, the remaining issue was to

> identify a long-term home for the gorillas that were confiscated in

> Malaysia. Here too, the Secretariat has extensively communicated with

> government officials in Malaysia. It passed on an offer by the National

Zoo

> of South Africa and the Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon to house the

> animals. In doing so, it provided Malaysia with information from the World

> Association of Zoos and Aquariums and from other non-governmental

> organizations and individuals with an interest in primate conservation and

> welfare. It recommended that DNA profiling be used to help determine the

> country of origin of the gorillas. It reminded Malaysia that the

Conference

> of the Parties to CITES has adopted guidance relating to the disposal of

> confiscated live animals (see Resolution Conf. 10.7). The Secretariat made

> clear that it would not be appropriate for anyone involved in this illicit

> trade, now or in the future, to benefit from!

> it.

> There are firm views held by organizations and individuals regarding what

> would be the most suitable long-term home for the gorillas and many of

these

> views are in direct conflict with each other. The Secretariat can, of

> course, not decide on this important aspect and has not entered the debate

> on this aspect of the case. It is conscious that the text of the

Convention

> and the relevant Resolution make plain that the decision rests with the

> State of confiscation, i.e. Malaysia.

> The Secretariat understands that Malaysia has decided that the animals

> should be transferred to the National Zoo of South Africa. The Secretariat

> neither endorses nor questions this decision; it does, however, note that

it

> complies with the guidance adopted by the Conference of the Parties.

>

>

> John M. Sellar

> Senior Enforcement Officer/Oficial Superior de Observancia/Charge de la

> lutte contre la fraude

> Legislation and Compliance Unit/

> Dependencia de Legislación y Cumplimiento/

> Unité chargée des législations et du respect de la Convention

> CITES Secretariat/Secretaría CITES/Secrétariat CITES

> Chemin des Anémones

> 1219 Châtelaine - Geneva

> Switzerland/Suiza/Suisse

>

>

> tel. (+4122) 917 8139

> tel (+4122) 917 8293 (direct)

> fax (+4122) 797 3417

> email: john.sellar

>

> CITES Secretariat Web site: www.cites.org

>

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