NP - Nepalese campaigners book success in monkey export campaign

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

Great news from Nepal!

 

Early February we send a request to the government committees on Natural

Resources and Economic Development to ban monkey export. We held a

presentation at the government on Friday February 6. Yesterday the Cie for

Natural Resources has given directions to the Minister and breeders to ban

the export of monkeys.

 

This will definitely have a positive effect on the outcome of the PIL that

we filed earlier this year.

 

For now there will be NO EXPORT. However the campaign must continue to make

sure the ban stays in place. It's now important to make sure the new

constitution includes a clause on animal welfare and that there will be no

amendments to CITES which will give the government a legal base to export

animals for biomedical research in future.

 

The struggle continues!

 

THANK YOU to everyone who supported this campaign!

 

On behalf of Animal Welfare Network Nepal and Stop Monkey Business

coalition,

 

Lucia.*

 

Parliamentary Committee gives directions given to stop monkey export*

 

KATHMANDU - A parliament committee has ordered Ministry of Forest and Soil

Conservation to stop the process of export of rhesus monkeys for biomedical

research.

 

The natural resource and management committee has called Mr. Shyam

Bajimaya, DG of Department of National park and wildlife conservation

and Mr. Prabesh Man Shrestha, Chief of Nepal Biomedical Research

Centre, who asked for the permission to export rhesus and ordered

them to stop the process. The centre was continuously requesting for

the permission to export monkeys.

 

According to the present Acts and Laws of the country, the committee

has concluded that it is not liable to export wildlife including

monkeys to the third countries.

 

One of the breeding centres has requested permission for export of 25

monkeys to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in 2009.

 

As the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 has not

mentioned clearly about the export of wild animals, the committee

decided that it would not be possible to take decision on such a

sensitive case like export of wild animal, based on the wildlife

Farming, reproduction and Research Policy 2060 only. Working plan

also mentioned that, only the blood and skin samples from the second

generation of the farmed animals should be allowed exporting.

 

After the order of minister of Forest Kiran Gurung to the Department

for the proceeding of the process of export in the 2009/2/10, the

committee has called on Mr. Uday Raj Sharma, Secretary; Ministry of

Forest to stop the export of monkeys.

 

Secretary Sharma informed that, although the export was requested,

ministry has not decided yet. Writ was filed in Supreme Court by the

Roots and Shoots on 2009/1/29 against the export. Though Shrestha

requested for the export of second generation from his farming, due

to the lack of scientific tool and possibility of the mixing of other

rhesus from wild the committee has ordered to stop the export for now.

 

Without the scientific monitoring, legal process and lack of tools

the Ministry of Forest did not consider about the sensitive case like

export of wild animals and its impact on the biodiversity. So the

committee has requested not to give permission for export without

legal process.

 

Red monkeys are listed in the article 2 of " CITES Convention " and as

the NPWC Act 2029 have prohibited exporting any wild animal including

monkeys to the third countries, the committee gave order to stop the

export of red monkeys to US for research.

 

DG of DNPWC Bajimaya and Monkey farmer Shrestha said that, if there

is amendment in the CITES law and Wildlife conservation Act, there is

possibility for exporting monkeys for research. According to

Technical Deputy secretary of Department Mr. Surya Bahadur Pandey,

Department had already proposed the correction of the CITES and

Wildlife conservation Act five years ago.

 

--

Lucia de Vries

Freelance Journalist

Bagdol, Patan, Nepal

Wijk 4-47, 8321 GE Urk, Holland