(MY) gorillas go home

[Guest guest]

Sunday September 17, 2006-THe Star

 

Gorillas go home at last

 

*Sunday Star Says*

 

WOULDN'T it have saved all the trouble if Malaysia had immediately sent the

controversial " Taiping Four " gorillas to their home country, Cameroon?

 

Now that they are finally heading home, perhaps the Department of Wildlife

and National Parks will admit that the initial relocation to a South Africa

Zoo was a huge financial and diplomatic mistake.

 

From the onset, Cameroon had requested the return of the smuggled gorillas

when the issue came to light in early 2002.

 

However, after two years of deliberation, Perhilitan chose to deliver the

young apes to the zoo. Both Perhilitan and South Africa claimed the choice

was endorsed by the secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species (Cites).

 

But Cites maintained that it neither endorsed nor supported this move, but

noted that the zoo option was the prerogative of the confiscating country,

Malaysia. Furthermore, Cites also dictates that country of origin's request

should be honoured.

 

The Cameroon government, supported by conservationists, continued to lobby

both the South Africa and Malaysia governments to give the animals back to

their rightful owner.

 

A victory for the conservation movement no less but the saga also highlights

the hypocrisy of so-called conservation-friendly modern zoos and the

manipulation of Cites rules to serve the interest of certain parties.