Fw: primfocus: 'Gorillas must go back to Cameroon'

[Guest guest]

>>It has been agreed that the gorillas would partake in an international

breeding programme in an attempt to secure the future of this highly

endangered species. " <<

 

WHO agreed to this? The criminals involved in this travesty, including

people in South Africa and Malaysia and in the zoo world, which seems to

support

this blatant disregard of CITES laws and intent? There's certainly no

mention of why the specific and obvious recommendations set down by the

CITES convention weren't followed (ie: return the gorillas to Cameroon).

 

Pretoria and Taiping Zoos plus the published opinions of the current WAZA

director give animal rights and anti-zoo people perfect ammunition to show

the entire zoo world in the most negative light ... As someone who supports

zoos, it's made it impossible for me to explain to people how Mr.

Labuschagne can state such nonsense about Pretoria protecting gorillas from

extinction by preventing them from being returned to their country of

origin, especially his untrue assertion that Pretoria can/will do better for

these gorillas than Limbe (statistics alone show LWC far superior at caring

for gorillas than Pretoria has been). This just shows an arrogance and

ignorance being perpetuated to justify what cannot be justified.

 

As for the zoo world " needing " these gorillas' genes - from my discussions

with people at the upper echelon of gorilla genetics, the current captive

population has enough genes to sustain the captive population without any

new genes. That means these new genes are unnecessary and not critically

important to the survival of this species, as some would have you believe

..... More mud-slinging and fear mongering by people pretending to have

gorilla conservation as their goal.

 

If Mr. Labuschagne and others really had the welfare of gorillas in mind,

they're support PASA sanctuaries and encourage the gorillas' return to

Cameroon, sending a clear and unmistakable message to future animal dealers

and rogue zoos that NO ONE will profit by the slaughter of these animals.

not even zoos.

 

Jane Dewar

 

-

" Linda J. Howard " <lindajhoward

" Primfocus " <primfocus

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 10:23 AM

primfocus: 'Gorillas must go back to Cameroon'

 

 

>

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=14 & art_id=vn20040421025519458C137348

> & set_id=1

> 'Gorillas must go back to Cameroon'

> April 21 2004 at 02:55AM

>

> By Eleanor Momberg

>

> An international animal rights group has slammed a decision to shelter in

> South Africa four young gorillas from Malaysia, saying the primates should

> go back to Cameroon where they were captured.

>

> The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) joined a chorus of other

> animal rights organisations who demanded the return of the animals, dubbed

> the " Taiping Four " to a wildlife centre in the west African country.

>

> It called on the South African Government to respect the Convention on

Trade

> in International Species (Cites) and return the gorillas to their country

of

> origin - Cameroon.

>

> 'It is really not comparing apples with apples'

> South Africa had flouted the same international conventions it helped form

> by allowing the gorillas to be moved to the Pretoria Zoo, instead of

> Cameroon, IFAW said.

>

> The gorillas arrived in South Africa last week from the Taiping Zoo in

> Malaysia after a journey lasting more than two years after their initial

> capture in Cameroon, where their parents were slaughtered for " bush-meat "

> (including meat from gorillas and monkeys.)

>

> Smuggled out of Nigeria on false documentation, they ended up in Kuala

> Lumpur where the irregularity was discovered, said IFAW spokesperson

> Christina Pretorius.

>

> The Pretoria Zoo filed an application to host the primates and was

> successful, receiving the animals on April 14.

>

> IFAW said the Cites regulations stipulated that when the country of origin

> desired the return of the animals, that desire should be respected.

>

> The convention made it " very clear " that the gorillas should ideally be

> returned to Cameroon, from where they were originally caught and smuggled

> out.

>

> The Taiping Four would be moved to their new enclosure at the Pretoria Zoo

> in about six weeks to form part of a captive breeding programme.

>

> The zoo's executive director Willie Pretorius said: " It has been agreed

that

> the gorillas would partake in an international breeding programme in an

> attempt to secure the future of this highly endangered species. "

>

> " Hundreds of gorillas are killed every year and if this continues, the

last

> remaining gorilla in the wild will be killed in 10 years from now, " he

said.

>

> Labuschagne said the zoo was a better suited facility to keep the animals.

>

> " It is far more advanced and professional than the Limbe Wildlife Centre

in

> Cameroon. "

>

> " It is really not comparing apples with apples, " he said.

>

>