FW: Press release Sep 13th 2004

[Guest guest]

Press release

 

Sept 13th 2004

 

Justice for Lopburi Orangutans

 

Friday the 10th of September marked a turning point in the lives of five

young orangutans that were being illegally held in appalling conditions at

the Lopburi zoo in Thailand, and also hopefully signifies a positive step

forward in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade.

 

Finally, after months of campaigning by animal welfare activists, the

illegally held apes have been officially confiscated by the Department of

National Parks from the zoo and relocated to one of their official wildlife

breeding centres in Ratchaburi province.

 

The five juvenile and sub-adult orangutans, aged between two to four years

old, have been through an horrific ordeal in their short lives at the hands

of those seeking to exploit these intelligent creatures in order to make a

profit.

 

First they would have been brutally taken from their mothers from the

forests of Indonesia, then illegally smuggled into Thailand, before being

sold on the black market to a Thai businessman who runs a theme park that

makes a profit from the misery and exploitation of animals. Then, following

the crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade towards the end of last year

they were moved to Lopburi where they were hidden away in cramped

prison-like conditions, never seeing the light of day except for when they

were let out to perform degrading tricks for tourists.

 

Over the last few months the orangutans have been humiliated and abused

through being forcefully made to perform in degrading animal shows at the

hands of staff and management of the Lopburi zoo. Unbelievably, a well-known

" wild animal rescue " organization is directly involved with the running of

the zoo and actively promoted this blatant violation of animal rights as

well as being directly involved with the possession of illegally imported

endangered wild animals.

 

The young orangutans were donated to the zoo by a wealthy businessman in

Korat. Following the official crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade by the

authorities in Thailand last year it is believed that this man " donated " the

illegal apes to the zoo believing that they could be safely hidden there,

perhaps hoping that the fact that the zoo is partly run by an " animal

welfare " organization would offer some protection. It is known that this

organization has previously received substantial donations from the

businessman in question.

A team of wildlife conservationists has visited the confiscated orangutans

at the wildlife breeding centre today and found the animals being well taken

care of. One of the animals, a sub-adult male, appeared to have serious

abdominal swelling, indicating a history of malnutrition and / or disease.

Veterinary assistance has been offered to help the animals by the Borneo

Orangutan Survival Foundation and the Wildlife Friends of Thailand.