Gorillas for South Africa

[Guest guest]

The Malaysian Minister of the Environment has accepted the WAZA

recommendation that the Taiping Four gorillas go to South Africa despite

that nation's involvement in the sordid deal. The CITES Secretariat has

stated that the placement does not contravene CITES, despite a resolution

calling for return of animals to their homeland, if requested by the home

government, as the optimal solution for confiscated wildlife. If you

haven't given up on the sanctuary option, here's the contact for the

Malaysian Minister.

 

Datuk Law Hieng Ding

Minister of Science, Technology and Environment

Email : lhd

 

For your information, no gorilla at Limbe Wildlife Center has ever been

killed --- to be eaten or for any purpose. The suggestion is preposterous.

Further, there are no plans to " release " sanctuary gorillas into the wild.

Limbe just received a major grant to expand its gorilla housing and is

looking for an out-station. Shirley McGreal

 

 

The Star Online > Nation

 

Monday August 25, 2003

 

Government to stick to decision on relocating gorillas

 

BY HILARY CHIEW

 

PETALING JAYA: The Government will stick to its decision to send the

confiscated gorillas to the South African zoo in Pretoria if it does not

receive new information advising otherwise from the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) secretariat.

 

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

that despite calls from certain quarters to have the animals sent to the

Limbe Sanctuary in Cameroon, the government was not convinced that the

sanctuary was a better option than a zoo.

 

" Our prime concern is the welfare of the animals and we are trying to make

sure that they end up in a place where they will be given the proper care

and protection. We are sceptical of the sanctuary's idea of returning the

animals to the wild, especially with the unresolved bush meat problem in

countries like Cameroon and Nigeria. These infants are likely to fall prey

to poachers, " he said in an interview recently.

 

Law was responding to objections from the international primate

conservation circle that sending the animals to the zoo would perpetuate

further trafficking of baby gorillas which are linked to unscrupulous zoos

and private collectors.

 

Conservationists also charged that the zoo was taking advantage of the

situation to replenish its aging gorilla's gene pool.

 

Dubbed the Taiping Four, the western lowland gorillas are believed to have

been poached from the Cameroon forests and smuggled through Nigeria and

South Africa using a forged Cites export permit to the Taiping Zoo in

January 2002.