Guest guest Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Amos Courage is John Aspinall's stepson. > > http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.htm\ l Letters:Gorillas > at the Primate Center > > Tue, 01/27/2009 1:27 PM | Opinion > > In response to recent letters to The Jakarta Post by Ulrike von Mengden > (Dec. 30) and Shirley McGreal (Jan. 2), which questioned the actions of The > Aspinall Foundation and Howletts Wild Animal Park in sending gorillas to the > Schmutzer Primate Center (SPC), I would make the following statement. > > Puck Schmutzer's vision was to create an environment for captive primates > from around the world that would act as a positive model for zoos in > Indonesia and indeed in Asia with its cage design, husbandry and > record-keeping. > > She achieved this with the creation of the Schmutzer Primate Center and, > with the direction of Willie Smits, helped create a network of wildlife > sanctuaries around the country. > > Schmutzer believed that, by building the best gorilla enclosure in the > world and housing a breeding colony at the Primate Center, these iconic > animals would help draw attention to the plight of all primates under threat > of extinction (which should be one of the primary roles of any zoo). > > The incredible number of visitors to the Primate Center validates her > vision. The late John Aspinall and Puck Schmutzer were good friends and The > Aspinall Foundation has been working in collaboration with SPC since the > 1980s. > > Through a succession of breeding loans between two facilities, the Howletts > and Port Lympne, wild animal parks have built up a successfully breeding > captive population of Indonesian primates such as Javan gibbons, Javan > langurs and leaf monkeys. These exchanges were carried out in full > accordance with international guidelines. > > Here in the UK, the breeding success of these Indonesian species has helped > to highlight their plight in the wild. Funds generated from the publicity > regarding these Indonesian primates are now being used to help conserve > other endangered International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed > primates through in-situ conservation in Java (such as the Javan Gibbon). > > These projects include a comprehensive field survey of all protected Javan > primates being undertaken by the Indonesian Primatological Association in > cooperation with the Forestry Ministry and local NGOs in West and Central > Java. > > Also, partial funding of the first international Indonesian Gibbon Workshop > in 2008 and majority funding of the 2008 Javan Gibbon Workshop organized by > the Forestry Minsitry and the Indonesian Primatological Association. > > The results of the latter workshop are to be used in preparation of the > National Strategy and Action Plan for the conservation of the Javan Gibbon. > The Foundation has committed itself to further funding of the priorities > agreed to by stakeholders at these workshops. > > The Aspinall Foundation believes that by working directly with the > Schmutzer Primate Center and Ragunan, staff conditions can be improved for > the other Indonesian species at the zoo, and Howletts recently hosted two > keepers and a vet from Ragunan Zoo and the Schmutzer center for 2 months. > > We believe, as did Puck Schmutzer, that the best way to improve conditions > outside the Schmutzer Primate Center is by positive example and > collaboration. > > Amos Courage > The Aspinall Foundation > London > *Comments (1)* | Post comment<http://www.thejakartapost.com/comment/reply/196904#comment-form> > A<http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.h\ tml#> | > A<http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.h\ tml#> | > A<http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.h\ tml#> | [image: > Mail to a friend] <http://www.thejakartapost.com/forward/196904> | [image: > Printer Friendly Version]<http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-c\ enter.html#> | > [image: Digg it!]<http://digg.com/submit?phase=2 & url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/\ 01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.html> | [image: > Add to Del.icio.us!]<http://del.icio.us/post?url=www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27\ /lettersgorillas-primate-center.html & title=Letters:Gorillas+at+the+Primate+Cente\ r> | [image: > Add to Reddit!]<http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/200\ 9/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.html & title=Letters:Gorillas+at+the+Primat\ e+Center> | [image: > Stumble it!]<http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/20\ 09/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.html & title=Letters:Gorillas+at+the+Prima\ te+Center> > > Briend (not verified) — Wed, 01/28/2009 - 3:05pm > > This is all very commendable and appears to be quite successful. > But you have missed the whole point of the previous letters. As a fortune > was spent on the Primate Center, the rest of Ragunan Zoo has gone completely > to pot. In as much as it was bad before, it is now a disgrace to Indonesia > and to conservationists. The animals live in squalid, filthy and very > cramped conditions. > Speak directly to this point. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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