Cameroon again requests return of smuggled gorillas

[Guest guest]

On 27 August 2003 Cameroon's Minister of the Environment sent an official

letter to his counterpart in Malaysia in follow-up to the joint letter

signed during CITES-2002 by Mr. Denis Koulagna Koutou and Minister Imeh

Okopido of Nigeria. The second letter which, like the first, requested the

return to Cameroon of the four smuggled gorillas procured by Taiping Zoo,

Malaysia, from Ibadan Zoo in Nigeria, was copied to Dr. Imeh Okopido and

the Prime Minister of Cameroon, as well as to the Secretary-General of

CITES. The Minister stated:

 

" As a follow up of the joint letter signed by Dr. Imeh Okopido, the

Nigerian Minister of Environment, and my collaborator Mr Koulagna Koutou

Denis, last November in Santiago (Chile) and referring to the four smuggled

baby gorillas, I would like to emphasize on the hope of the Nigerian and

Cameroonian authorities to see these animals sent back to their native land

instead of being exported to a zoo in South Africa as recently reported by

Dr. Shirley McGreal of the International Primate Protection League. Let me

inform you that two other gorillas smuggled probably by the same network

were seized and repatriated to the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon, in

favor of joint efforts by the Nigerian and Cameroonian government and the

CITES authorities on May 23rd of this year. This information needs to be

given in order to prevent Your Excellency from being convinced that the

Pretoria Zoo is the only [zoo] equipped for the rehabilitation of these

animals, the argument that seemingly oriented the decision of sending the

smuggled gorillas to South Africa.

I would be grateful for any measure you will take for repatriation of the

young gorillas to their native land instead of the Pretoria Zoo.

Hoping to hear from you, I pray you to accept, dear sir, the expression of

my highest regard and I stand ready for any collaboration you will judge

appropriate.

 

Tanji Mbianyor (Minister)