Fw: [gorillakeepers] WAZA statement

[Guest guest]

-

stonehand00

gorillakeepers

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 11:27 AM

[gorillakeepers] WAZA statement

 

 

 

The information below my words comes from the WAZA website.

 

The closer I look the more I can understand how Pretoria Zoo was able to get

the four gorillas to their facility instead of going back home to Cameroon.

 

Some say in the past It was out of ignorance that a gorilla was pulled from

the wild to live in a cage. It was a big, scary, dumb animal that just sat and

ate all day. Psychologically it didn't suffer from captivity. Of course we now

know differently. Habitats have been improved, group dynamics are closely

observed and enrichment is used.

 

If those in authority are not enlightened to great apes, to witness the

dignity they posses, to feel their souls and feel they are in the presence of

another person then I see little hope for the ape under their supervision. Most

of

us have that understanding so it's easy for us to care. But I have talked to

animal keepers that don't get it, they just don't feel like they are in the

presence of a person. I've witneesed those in authority ignore gorillas (I'll

never understand that one) as though they were a product rather than 'people'.

 

It's so incredible how forgiving gorillas are. The same one that is

inprisoned, used, teased, disrespected and treated as an object for human goals

is

still trusting of us.

 

As long as people in authority have no connection with or empathy for the

gorilla the same will continue.

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

Zoos don't need gorillas - gorillas need zoos

17. July 2003

Following a recommendation by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

(WAZA), the Wildlife and National Parks Department for Peninsular Malaysia has

decided to send four confiscated gorillas known as the “Taiping Four†to the

National Zoological Gardens of South Africa. While certain interest groups

challenge this decision, WAZA maintains that there was no better option.

The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) for Peninsular

Malaysia has informed the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the

National Zoo of South Africa that the Government of Malaysia has finally decided

to send the confiscated gorillas known as the “Taiping Four†to the National

Zoological Gardens of South Africa (Pretoria Zoo). This decision was made

taking into account a recommendation by WAZA. To respond to certain criticisms,

WAZA wishes to make the following comments:

WAZA and its members are deeply committed to species conservation and animal

welfare. WAZA’s Code of Ethics requires that obtaining animals from the wild

should be reduced to a minimum, and that each importation must be in full

compliance with the relevant national and international legislation. The two

zoos

involved in the illegal transfer from West Africa to Malaysia of the gorillas

concerned are not members of WAZA.

It is WAZA’s stated policy to support international conservation treaties.

Consequently, the WAZA Executive Office assisted the Secretariat of the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

(CITES) in the fact finding and suggested that Pretoria Zoo would be a suitable

place to accommodate the animals in case they would have to be confiscated and

could not be returned to their country of origin. At the Executive Office’s

request, Pretoria Zoo submitted a comprehensive documentation allowing the

authorities to make an informed decision.

The following considerations are the basis for WAZA’s recommendation:

• The keeping of gorillas is expensive. Any institution receiving them should

have a solid financial basis. Pretoria Zoo is the National Zoo of South

Africa. It has a well administered budget, and the costs exceeding the revenues

from gate fees etc. are covered by the National Government.

• Any facility accepting animals from a country outside the species’ natural

range should be able to guarantee lifetime care. Pretoria Zoo was established

in 1898, and has been continually and extensively renewed. It is thus a very

a long-term operation whose further existence is ensured by the fact that is

government-owned and that it receives a very large number of visitors.

• Lowland gorillas are endangered in the wild. Every year about 3000 gorillas

are slaughtered for the illegal bushmeat trade. The maintenance of viable

breeding populations in human care is therefore of utmost importance. For this

reason, an international studbook is kept under the auspices of WAZA, and two of

WAZA’s Association Members (AZA and EAZA) operate co-ordinated ex situ

conservation breeding programmes. In 2002, the total of animals under control of

the

WAZA Network was 825 gorillas kept by 144 zoos. Of these, 388 gorillas in 56

zoos belong to the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), which also

includes Australia, and 373 gorillas in 53 zoos to the North American Species

Survival Plan (SSP). Pretoria Zoo has always registered its animals in the

International Studbook. The only gorilla currently at the zoo is a loan from the

European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). The zoo has a commitment to

cooperate with both, studbook and EEP also in future.

• Pretoria Zoo employs not only dedicated and experienced animal keepers, but

also two fully salaried staff veterinarians and a veterinary nurse. The zoo

has its own animal hospital, it can count on the cooperation of the

world-renowned Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty, which is only a few minutes

drive away,

and there are numerous human medicine institutes and hospitals in Pretoria,

which could be consulted if necessary.

• Animals taken out of their original range may attract pathogens, often

without becoming clinically ill themselves. This may be a problem for the wild

population if the animals would be returned to their home land, and would have

to

be addressed by adequate veterinary expertise and appropriate quarantine

facilities. Pretoria Zoo, apart from having the veterinary experience and

facilities available, lies outside the gorilla’s range, i.e. no disease could

be

transmitted to wild gorillas.

• Those who promote the transfer of the gorillas to a sanctuary instead of a

zoo claim that a strong message needs to be sent to zoos to the effect that

illegal trade in gorillas will not be rewarded. WAZA is not aware of any of its

member zoos having accepted gorillas from illegal sources within at least the

past twenty years. 73 % of the gorillas currently kept by zoos are born in

human care, many of them are second or third generation animals. Only nine

gorillas from the wild were added to the studbook during the past ten years.

This

includes animals confiscated by the authorities and subsequently entrusted to a

zoo pursuant to article VIII.4 of CITES.

• The Taping gorillas have to tell a story by which they would promote CITES

and conservation in general. However, for telling a story, an audience is

needed. Pretoria Zoo has an attendance of 600'000 to 800'000 visitors per year

forming a huge audience. In addition, there are a number of outreach activities.

South Africa is often blamed for having allowed the transit of illegally

traded CITES specimens. Having the four gorillas at Pretoria Zoo in combination

with the activities envisaged will help to create awareness among the general

public, but also among airline personnel, customs officers, border veterinarians

etc. and thus help to prevent similar cases in future.

• The visitors meeting the gorillas at Pretoria Zoo may be disposed to donate

money for gorilla conservation. Pretoria Zoo will undertake to establish a

Gorilla Conservation Fund subject to official audit and to scrutiny by CITES.

This fund will be used to support conservation projects in the gorilla range

states of West and Central Africa.

Sanctuaries, seen by certain interest groups as the preferred option for the

future housing of the “Taiping Fourâ€, could hardly give the same guarantees

for a long-term keeping of the animals, could not provide better facilities and

care, and would not be able to reach a very big audience. They keep their

animals in cages or enclosures too, they are not designed for receiving animals

from ex situ sources, they may have problems with the keeping of fully-grown

apes, and they prevent the animals in their care from breeding. Sanctuaries are

primarily intended to take care of orphaned animals collected or confiscated

locally, and WAZA fully recognizes that they can fulfil a very useful role from

an animal welfare and, to a certain extent, species conservation standpoint,

and encourages zoos to continue to cooperate with and to support sanctuaries

also in future.

Those who oppose the transfer of the gorillas to Pretoria Zoo argue that

sending victims of one zoo's misconduct to reward or award another zoo would not

be acceptable, and they suggest that zoos want to purchase gorillas for

economic profit. These arguments are not pertinent, as they are based on an

antiquated understanding of justice implying a collective guilt of zoos, and a

complete

lack of understanding of the economic relevance of keeping gorillas in a zoo.

Of course, gorillas are a high profile species, and opening a new gorilla

exhibit or adding a group of gorillas to the collection will always result in an

increase of visitor numbers. However, zoos having given up the keeping of

gorillas to make more space available for other species, such as Aalborg,

Copenhagen or Rome Zoo, have seen no negative impact on visitor numbers, and in

zoos

having built new and attractive gorilla exhibits, visitor numbers returned more

or less to normal after a while. It should also be noted that most zoos

keeping gorillas are non-profit establishments operated by governments,

foundation,

charities or non-profit companies, and that any financial surplus would be

reinvested into the operation or used for conservation projects.

Zoos can do without mammoths, without sabre-toothed tigers and without dodos.

Zoos could also do perfectly well without gorillas. In fact 85 % of the zoos

organised in the WAZA Network don’t keep gorillas, and most of them have no

intention of ever adding this species to their collection. On the other hand,

the gorillas with their steadily decreasing population and shrinking habitat may

have to rely on a healthy zoo population in order to survive as a species in

the longer term.