FW: PASA News - Taiping 4 Return An Important Symbol

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PASA [PASA]

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 1:14 AM

john

PASA News - Taiping 4 Return An Important Symbol

 

 

 

<http://cts.vresp.com/c/?PASA/9e0622ebf4/3dbe91d692/f9c9af9040>

 

November 26, 2007

 

 

P.O. Box 86645

Portland, Oregon 97206

USA

 

Tel:1.503.238.8077

 

 

 

PASA HAILS TAIPING FOUR GOIRLLAS' RETURN AS IMPORTANT SYMBOL

 

 

<http://proxy.mi.vresp.com/3725b3d77/www.ams-dev.com/pasa/nl/gorilla_webopti

mzed.jpg> The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) hailed the impending

return of the Taiping Four gorillas to Cameroon later this week as an

important victory in the battle to protect Africa's natural heritage, ending

a five-year saga that became one of the most high-profile cases of animal

trafficking in history.

 

The four Western Lowland gorillas will arrive at the Limbe Wildlife Centre

in southwestern Cameroon on November 30, where they will eventually join the

sanctuary's existing gorilla population and live out the rest of their

natural lives.

 

The gorillas have lived at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa

in Pretoria (pictured at right) since 2004.

 

" The return of the Taiping Four sends a clear message that Africa's

wildlife is worth fighting for, " said Doug Cress, executive director of

PASA. " It is against the law to capture gorillas from the wild, forge

transport documents, and ship them overseas, but that's what happened to the

Taiping Four. When the Government of Cameroon made it clear in 2003 that it

wanted the gorillas back, PASA felt compelled to act. "

 

PASA officials spent the last five years lobbying governments and

international organizations for the return of the gorillas, and joined with

a consortium of NGOs - including the International Fund for Animal Welfare

(IFAW), the International Primate Protection League (IPPL), the Last Great

Ape Organization (LAGA), the Pandrillus Foundation, and the Born Free

Foundation - to ultimately close the case.

 

The gorillas - one male and three females, thought to be approximately six

years of age - are believed to be victims of the bushmeat trade. Captured

from the wild and taken as infants from Cameroon to Nigeria in 2002, they

were then flown via forged CITES documents through South Africa to the

Taiping Zoo in Malaysia. It was only after the IPPL reported the gorillas'

existence that the Government of Malaysia stepped in and confiscated the

animals.

 

But Malaysia's decision to ship the gorillas back to South Africa was

rejected by PASA and others as unsatisfactory. All along, Cameroon insisted

that the gorillas be returned to their native land, a claim that was

bolstered by two separate DNA tests that confirmed the gorillas' Cameroonian

origin.

 

Limbe director Felix Lankester and head caretaker Jonathan Kang arrived in

South Africa last week to begin acclimating to the gorillas at the Pretoria

zoo and finalize details of the transfer. The gorillas will be shipped via

Kenya Airways in move that is being underwritten by IFAW.

 

Limbe is a charter member of PASA, which represents 17 sanctuaries in 12

African countries.

 

Cress said the case of the Taiping Four underscores the need to respect

Africa and its wildlife.

 

" The days of Africa being a big animal shop for the rest of the world are

over, " he said. " Africa does not have an inexhaustible supply of animals and

every species is struggling to maintain a balance necessary to survive. If

the governments that host PASA sanctuaries ask for help upholding their laws

or protecting their wildlife, we will do whatever we can to support them. "

 

For more information, please visit www.pasaprimates.org

<http://cts.vresp.com/c/?PASA/9e0622ebf4/3dbe91d692/0643bfc5da> or contact

PASAapes.

 

Pan African Sanctuary Alliance 2007

<http://cts.vresp.com/c/?PASA/9e0622ebf4/3dbe91d692/0d6fa2f129>