Taiping Four Gorilla Case updated

[Guest guest]

Limbe Wildlife Centre is getting 2 gorillas from Paul Raad's place in

Nigeria ... they should be there by now, or are en route at this moment.

Looks like this could be the " reason " why the Taiping 4 gorillas wouldn't be

sent to LWC and instead awarded to Pretoria Zoo in South Africa, which has

been allegedly lobbying hard to receive these gorillas, since they've been

unable to obtain gorillas from the EEP ...

 

But LWC could take the Taiping 4, with some financial help from the zoo

world, which so far very few (Columbus and Toronto Zoos are the only

exceptions I can think of at this time) have offered. The zoo world wants

these gorillas in their gene pool and while I'm sure Pretoria can/will

provide excellent care for these gorillas, I do NOT like the precedent it

sets ...

 

So two zoos commit a fraud and get gorillas sent out with CITES permits, and

now a third zoo gets to benefit from the 2 other zoo's criminal activities

.... hmmmm, what's to stop this from happening again?

 

Two " bad " zoos don't mean all zoos are guilty, but when a third zoo

" benefits " from the crimes of other zoos, it puts all zoos in a bad light,

which is disturbing to me and many others.

 

Jane Dewar

 

-

" Shirley McGreal " <spm

<primfocus

Wednesday, March 05, 2003 9:32 AM

primfocus: South African zoo likely to get " Taiping Four " gorillas

 

 

>

> This is extremely disappointing. South African Airways, the nation's

> national carrier, carried the gorillas to Taiping Zoo. Limbe would be a

> great home for them - and at least they would have a chance to return to

> the wild.

>

> Why should a South African zoo get an undeserved bonanza? There are only

> three gorillas in South African zoos, one at Pretoria (due to the decease

> of three adult gorillas) and two at Johannesburg.

>

> The " alternative facility " is Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon.

>

> IPPL continues to believe that Malaysia is getting off too lightly. The

> Taiping Zoo director still had his job and nobody is being prosecuted. The

> Nigerians are at least trying to do something.

>

>

> -----------------

>

> The CITES Secretariat's monitoring of investigations into the export of

> gorillas from the University of Ibadan Zoological Garden in Nigeria to

> Taiping Zoo in Malaysia is continuing.

>

> A member of the Secretariat returned last week from a mission to Nigeria

> where, among other issues, he considered Nigeria's response to the

evidence

> that the trade between the two zoos was contrary to the Convention. The

> Secretariat is firmly of the opinion that considerable criminality is

> associated with this incident, particularly with regard to how the animals

> were acquired and their subsequent export from Nigeria. It also believes

> that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the complicity of persons in

> Malaysia in the illicit trade.

>

> The Secretariat staff member attended the inauguration of a Commission of

> Inquiry in Abuja, Nigeria, and briefed its members regarding illicit trade

> from the country. Special attention was given to the gorillas that were

> traded to Malaysia. One of the tasks of the Commission will be to examine

> the circumstances surrounding the issuance of a permit authorising the

> export of the gorillas to Malaysia. The establishment of a Commission of

> Inquiry was by order of the President of Nigeria and the inauguration was

> conducted by Nigeria's Attorney General and Minister of Justice. The

> Secretariat also took the opportunity to meet with senior officials of the

> Nigeria Police and Nigeria Customs Service, as well as officials of the

> Federal Ministry of Environment (in which the CITES Management Authority

of

> Nigeria is located). The Secretariat will continue to provide assistance

> and technical support to Nigeria to help improve its implementation of the

> Convention. This issue will also be discussed at the 49th meeting of the

> Standing Committee, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in April

2003.

>

> The Secretariat's latest observations regarding the incident are being

> communicated to officials in Malaysia. It understands that a decision has

 

> recently been taken by the authorities in Malaysia that the gorillas

should

> go to a suitable facility where they can be housed in appropriate

> conditions and contribute to conservation of this species and that

> discussions are underway with a zoo in South Africa to enable this to take

> place. The Secretariat is of the opinion that the decision to dispose of

> the animals in this manner complies with the guidance that the Conference

> of the Parties has issued on this subject. The Secretariat has already

made

> clear to Malaysia that it thinks it would not be appropriate for Taiping

> Zoo to benefit now or in the future from trade that was conducted contrary

> to the Convention.

>

> The Secretariat is aware that an alternative facility in Africa was

> identified as a possible recipient for the gorillas confiscated in

Malaysia

> and it made the authorities aware of this. It is also aware, however, that

> this facility is soon to receive gorillas that have recently been seized

by

> the authorities in Nigeria. It presumes that this may have been a fact

that

> Malaysia took into account in reaching a decision regarding the disposal

of

> the animals.

>

> The Secretariat regrets that unscrupulous persons were able to circumvent

> the provisions of the Convention on this occasion. It believes, however,

> that useful learning opportunities have been identified and hopes that

> something positive will emerge from the incident. It continues to

encourage

> the countries concerned to gather evidence to allow those involved in the

> illicit trade to be prosecuted.

>

> The Secretary-General of CITES is highly appreciative of the concern and

> support shown by non-governmental organizations and the general public in

> relation to this incident. In particular, Willem Wijnstekers wishes to

note

> the information supplied by the International Primate Protection League

and

> the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

>

>

> John M. Sellar

> Senior Enforcement Officer/Oficial Superior de Observancia/Charge de la

> lutte contre la fraude

> Legislation and Compliance Unit/

> Dependencia de Legislación y Cumplimiento/

> Unité chargée des législations et du respect de la Convention

> CITES Secretariat/Secretaría CITES/Secrétariat CITES

> Chemin des Anémones

> 1219 Châtelaine - Geneva

> Switzerland/Suiza/Suisse

>

>

> tel. (+4122) 917 8139

> tel (+4122) 917 8293 (direct)

> fax (+4122) 797 3417

> email: john.sellar

>

> CITES Secretariat Web site: www.cites.org

>

>

>