Article from Malaysian Star re gorillas

[Guest guest]

Tuesday April 20, 2004

 

Shackled by the law

By HILARY CHIEW, reporter for the Star (Malaysia)

 

THERE was a glimmer of hope in February that the four baby gorillas

illegally acquired by Taiping Zoo would get a chance to return to their

homeland in Cameroon.

 

Cameroonian Environment and Forestry Minister Oben Tanyi-Mbianyor held a

private meeting with then Science, Technology and Environment Minister

Datuk Seri Law Hieng Ding on the sideline of the 7th Conference of Parties

to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP7 CBD) hosted by Malaysia

from Feb 9 to 27.

 

On Feb 21, Tanyi-Mbianyor had earnestly requested for the gorillas to be

returned to his country as opposed to the Malaysian Government's decision

to send the animals to Pretoria Zoo in Pretoria, 50km north of

Johannesburg, South Africa. He did not want the matter to be publicised as

he was hoping that the diplomatic channel would work. But unfortunately his

efforts had been in vain.

 

The four gorillas, dubbed the Taiping Four, had landed in Pretoria Zoo on

April 15.

 

They were brought into Malaysia in 2002, disguised as captive-bred

specimens in a purported animal exchange programme with Nigeria.

 

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites),

Resolution 10.7 (Annex 1), which governs the disposal of confiscated

animals arising from illegal trade, states: " Where the country of origin

desires return of the animals, this desire should be respected. "

 

In fact, as early as November 2002, a joint statement was issued by Nigeria

and Cameroon at the 12th Conference of Parties of Cites in Santiago, Chile,

in which the two Central African Governments called for a DNA analysis of

the gorillas to determine their place of origin. The statement also asked

for them to be returned to Cameroon if indeed they belonged to the western

lowland gorilla species which originated from Cameroon. However, no DNA

analysis was carried out.

 

Investigations in Nigeria confirmed that the babies were poached from the

Cameroonian forests, smuggled into Nigeria and laundered as captive-bred

specimens by the University Zoo of Ibadan.

 

Tanyi-Mbianyor followed up with a letter to Law requesting for the animals

to be sent to a gorilla rehabilitation sanctuary following the Cabinet's

announcement to hand over the primates to Pretoria Zoo last July.

 

The announcement was greeted with strong criticism from the primate

conservation community which charged that it would send the wrong message

to wildlife traders and unscrupulous zoos, that laws could be manipulated

to acquire endangered species. They also hit out at Pretoria Zoo's vested

interest in the four young gorillas to replenish its gorilla gene pool and

to boost the zoo's profile.

 

The International Primate Protection League (IPPL), the Pan African

Sanctuary Alliance and the Jane Goodall's Institute had rallied behind the

Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon, saying that the Sanctuary was the

ideal temporary home for the gorillas and that the primates would stand a

better chance of returning to the wild in the future.

 

The proponents had submitted a declaration of support signed by 65

conservation and animal welfare organisations to both Tanyi-Mbianyor and

Law. The declaration applauded the stand taken by the Cameroonian

Government in protecting its wildlife by asking for the return of the four

animals and urged for further investigation into the matter.

 

Controversial choice

 

It is perplexing why Malaysia failed to consider Cameroon's request.

 

An inside source said the eleventh-hour appeal by the Cameroonian minister

could not have come at a worst time as the country was gearing up for the

general elections and politicians like Law were preoccupied with election

matters.

 

" Perhilitan officials were eager to close the file as quickly as possible.

The Cabinet's nod to the Pretoria plan sealed the fate of the gorillas, " he

added.

 

Perhilitan enforcement director Misliah Mohd Basir said the disposal plan

was based on Cites regulations that allowed the animals to be placed at any

appropriate centre, and that the final decision rests with the country

which had confiscated the animals.

 

She questioned why the Government's decision was criticised while it had

always been Perhilitan's practice to deliver confiscated specimens to its

rescue centre at Malacca Zoo.

 

" By right, the same procedure should follow for the gorillas too. (Of

course), since the gorillas are a high-profile species, the common practice

could not be followed, " she added.

 

" The choice of Pretoria was as advised by the Cites secretariat. "

 

Cites senior enforcement officer John Sellar, however, maintained that the

secretariat neither endorsed nor questioned the final decision but noted

that it complied with the convention's guidance.

 

Sellar said both offers from the Pretoria Zoo and Limbe Wildlife Sanctuary

were passed on to Perhilitan.

 

The secretariat had distanced itself from the discussion on the most

suitable long-term home for the gorillas as proponents of the zoo and

sanctuary option engaged in fierce debates over the last one year.

 

However, it was understood that some time in January, the secretariat had

for an unknown reason requested Malaysia to review its decision but the

intervention was deemed too late by Perhilitan.

 

Misled again?

 

Law had lamented that he was misled into signing the import permit that

facilitated the importation of the gorillas and argued that whatever

decision reached was in the best interest of the animals.

 

In announcing the Cabinet's decision, Law said Pretoria Zoo was picked

based on its sound financial status, its commitment to cooperate in the

breeding of gorillas through its membership in the Conservation Breeding

Specialist Group and its facilities and expertise.

 

He said he was convinced by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

(Waza), which claimed that the zoo had a decade's experience in breeding

gorillas.

 

Pretoria Zoo's supposedly good track record was challenged. IPPL's chairman

Dr Shirley McGreal revealed that three out of four adult gorillas in the

zoo, acquired from the wild, died between 1995 and 1998, while two newborns

also died within six and 17 days in 1989 and 1990 respectively. One of the

babies had a fractured skull, raising doubts of the zoo's capability in

caring for the gorillas. Its remaining male has been alone for six years

and there is concern if he would accept any newcomers.

 

Following this revelation, a senior ministry official expressed concern

that it was likely that the minister was not given the full information to

help him reach the right decision.

 

South Africa's Environment and Tourism Affairs Minister Valli Moosa said in

an interview during COP7 CBD that he was not aware of Pretoria Zoo's dismal

record, and claimed that the decision was approved by Cites.

 

The selection of South Africa as the recipient of the four gorillas

infuriated the conservation community which had pointed out South Africa's

role in facilitating the illegal passage of the gorillas in January 2002.

 

McGreal had criticised South Africa's Cites management for its lack of

scrutiny on wildlife consignment in transit and the use of the national

carrier South African Airways in transporting the primates from Nigeria to

Johannesburg and onward to Bangkok where the consignment was flown by a

joint-carrier service operated by Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways into

Penang airport.

 

McGreal pointed out that the Pretoria solution was a blow to Cameroon which

had established two sanctuaries for gorillas rescued from illegal traders.

 

Bilateral agreement

 

Primate conservationists like McGreal are weary of the agreement reached

between Malaysia and South Africa. She had questioned an earlier plan to

strike a bilateral agreement with the recipient of the Taiping Four which

included the return of their offspring to Malaysia.

 

She said such a plan would make a mockery of Cites which strived to prevent

commercial exploitation of animals as it was detrimental to their survival

in the wild.

 

The Cites secretariat had made it clear that it would not be appropriate

for anyone involved in this illegal trade to benefit from it, now or in the

future.

 

Misliah said Perhilitan would be signing a memorandum of understanding with

Pretoria Zoo pertaining to exchange of technical expertise in breeding

programme as well as animal exchange. The contents of the MOU have yet to

be finalised.

 

Another bone of contention is that personnel implicated in the case were

not prosecuted despite repeated calls by the Cites secretariat and

conservation groups to punish the culprits.

 

Sellar said Cites had asked Perhilitan to conduct a thorough investigation

into the illegal transaction and prosecute those responsible for violating

the national laws relating to implementation of Cites regulations.

 

Although the international agreement is non-binding, signatories are

obliged to enact national legislation that adopts the Cites provisions.

 

In Nigeria, a presidential commission's inquiry had resulted in the sacking

of several key personnel implicated in the illegal trade of the four baby

gorillas poached from the forests of neighbouring Cameroon.

 

It is learnt that in the course of invetigations, Perhilitan has been

frustrated by its laws which do not provide for prosecution against

concealment of information.

 

An inside source said there was no relevant section under the Wildlife

Protection Act 1972 whereby Taiping Zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus could be

taken to task for misleading the authorities. Handicapped by the law, the

director was issued a strong warning letter instead.

 

Dr Lazarus, in his application for import permit, had claimed that the

gorillas were captive-bred.

 

Misliah acknowledged the shortcomings in the law and pledged to look into

it, adding that procedures involving animal exchanges between zoos would be

tightened in future.

 

Indeed, this whole unpleasant episode should serve as a lesson and we

should not drag our feet in pushing for the amendments to the Wildlife

Protection Act 1972.

 

 

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

International Primate Protection League

PO Box 766

Summerville, SC 29484, USA

Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org

 

" He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt.

He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord

would suffice. "

--Albert Einstein