Fw: PASA News: Taiping Four Gorillas Should Be Sent to Cameroon

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PASAapes

NormRosen

Tuesday, June 08, 2004 12:53 PM

PASA News: Taiping Four Gorillas Should Be Sent to Cameroon

 

 

 

Send home " Taiping Four " gorillas, activists say

 

By Ed Stoddard

 

JOHANNESBURG, June 8 (Reuters) - Four young gorillas from Cameroon, smuggled to

Malaysia and then moved to a South African zoo, should be sent home immediately,

animal rights activists and primate specialists said on Tuesday.

 

The fate of the " Taiping Four, " named after the Malaysian zoo where they

appeared after being smuggled out of Cameroon two years ago, has infuriated

animal rights groups which want them returned to their natural habitat.

 

They say the apes should be returned to Cameroon under the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which regulates the global

trade in threatened wildlife.

 

" According to CITES, confiscated animals are to be returned to their native land

whenever possible, " the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and The Pan

African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA) said in a statement.

 

The statement was issued at a PASA conference in Johannesburg on primate

conservation and related issues.

 

" As a signatory to CITES, and in the spirit of African cooperation, South Africa

should respect the conventions it helped put in place to safeguard endangered

species, " said Jason Bell-Leask, Director of IFAW Southern Africa.

 

" Cameroon is within its rights to demand the return of the gorillas and South

Africa should acknowledge that and send the animals home immediately, " he said.

 

Cameroon has long demanded the return of the lowland gorillas, whose population

of several thousand in Cameroon, Central African Republic, the two Congos, Gabon

and Nigeria is rapidly declining because of indiscriminate hunting and logging,

trading in pets and the deadly Ebola virus.

 

The animals were discreetly brought to South Africa's National Zoo in Pretoria

in April from Malaysia, which is also a signatory to CITES.

 

The National Zoo has said the animals are doing fine but it has not allowed

public viewing of the apes yet.

 

Animal welfare groups want them sent to the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon.

 

" Limbe, which was founded in 1993, currently cares for 12 gorillas and is

regarded as one of the top wildlife conservation centres in the world, " said

IFAW and PASA.

 

" Limbe has three veterinarians on staff, a modern health facility, and its

3,200-square metre gorilla enclosure is one of the largest urban facilities in

the world, " they said.