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Our ancestral friends face extinction
NOV 02 - Nine African countries are gorilla habitats. At one time, the gorilla population was estimated at more than 100,000. But recent surveys indicate that the numbers are declining as gorillas are hunted and forests are depleted. Illegal wildlife traders are currently trading endangered primates, and statistics indicate that unless this trade is stopped, certain primates, such as the gorilla and the wild chimpanzee, will shortly be extinct. The chimpanzee and the gorilla are the two animals most closely related to humans. Genetically, chimpanzees have a ninety-nine percent overlap with humans; they also have similar psychological and behavioural patterns. For instance, they can learn, and can communicate with humans and other chimpanzees through sign language. Tragically, these similarities give rise to a high demand for these live primates, and consequently, zoos pay large sums of money for live gorillas, and biomedical research companies pay large sums for chimpanzees. These monetary incentives provide smugglers ample motive to pursue the trade of these species.
Trading of endangered species, including gorillas, whose origins are not firmly determined, is forbidden under CITES. The hunting and capture of gorillas, in Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria and Gabon, where remaining major populations of the primates are threatened by deforestation and hunting, is officially banned. However, the methods of trading chimpanzees and gorillas have drastically depleted the populations of both species. Normally ten chimpanzees die before one is delivered. Smugglers typically target nursing infants one to two years old for the trade. To retrieve the infant, poachers will shoot the mother and seize the child.
Since chimpanzees move together, four to five adult chimpanzees are often murdered to capture a single offspring. Moreover, at least ninety percent of captured animals die en-route to their trade destination because of abominable packing conditions.
The commercial worth of each of the animals mainly used for zoological and other research purposes in Europe and Asia is put between $100, 000 and $500,000. In Africa, primate species have traditionally been hunted for food. Now the monetary incentive for poaching greatly increases the likelihood of an endangered primate’s death. Poachers can receive twice the profit they use to get from killing primates solely for food, and then sell the mothers infants to dealers.
Protection of such an endangered species is urgently needed. Although CITES has been characterized as one of the most successful treaties for the conservation of wildlife, the circumvention of the agreement remains a significant problem.
Smuggling of chimpanzees begins mainly in several countries in Africa which have concentrated pockets of chimpanzee population. The eastern region of Africa houses approximately fifty-two percent of all chimpanzees living on the African continent. Of the twenty-one nations inhabited by chimpanzees some are not CITES members. Non-CITES countries trade live animals without having to account for them to the CITES Secretariat. However, CITES members often evade the treaty by refusing to enact national controls for listed species.
The leading importers of primates from these countries are all CITES members. Canada, France, Japan the Netherlands, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries generally import chimpanzees for biomedical research, and gorillas for zoos. These nations are able to import these endangered animals despite CITES because scientific research and zoological captivity are not generally considered commercial use. Captive breeding claims occur frequently because CITES allows commercial trade of captive-bred primates, and dealers take advantage of this permission. Parties also circumvent CITES by altering or forging the permit.
Last year four baby gorillas smuggled out of the country to Taipei, which were supposed of the Nigerian breed mainly found in the low land of cross River State. Which was serious concern since the capture of the four gorillas meant 60 member of the gorilla family would have been killed out of the entire 200 of the species in the Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon. They passed through Johannesburg International airport en route to a zoo near Malaysian capital Kula Lumpur. They were exported from Nigeria on document ~ ~ claiming they were born in captivity at a new Nigerian zoo- but there were no recognised captive-breeding programmes for gorilla anywhere in Africa. Conservation groups believe they were captured illegally in the forests of Central Africa and smuggled via Nigeria to Malaysia.
Similarly, there are several cases of smuggling of Chimpanzees too. The Uganda Wildlife authority burst a racket of Chimpanzees smugglers last year, where four smugglers were arrested and recovered two chimpanzees, which were smuggled into Uganda from Congo.
In the United States, only those chimpanzees already in the country, or those being bred in captivity within the country, are legally allowed to be used for research. However, illegal importation occurs regularly. Solutions for protecting the wild chimpanzees and gorillas do exist. Altering CITES itself, changing international attitudes about enforcing the treaty, and curtailing smuggling are some measures that will help prevent circumvention. Though the populations of gorillas and chimpanzees continue to decline, the strict implementation of CITES coupled with the halting of smuggling can still save them from extinction. Thus it is the time that the international community should implement CITES with respecting their commitment and stop the illegal trafficking of these primates to save them for future.Posted on: 2003-11-01 10:08
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