Illegal Gorilla Exports from Nigeria

Four young gorillas were sent from Nigeria to Malaysia in January. Officially, these apes were born in the Ibadan Zoo – although no gorilla birth has ever been reported in captivity in Nigeria. The recipient of the animals, the Taiping-Zoo in Malaysia planned to send tigers, sunbears and other rare animals to Nigeria in exchange for the gorillas.
It is assumed that the four gorillas are bushmeat orphans that were imported to Nigeria from Cameroon. This is illegal and a violation of CITES which has been signed by Nigeria. The authorities in Johannesburg, the first stop of the gorillas on their way to Malaysia, should have become suspicious but did not investigate the correctness of the CITES permits. Nigerian and international conservation and animal welfare groups protested and demanded the return of the four baby gorillas.
This is not the first case of gorilla smuggling from Nigeria. In September 2001 a gorilla baby had been exported from Nigeria illegally. In Egypt, the ape was confiscated. As the veterinarian at the airport was afraid of disease transmission and did not know what to do (although he could have asked zoo colleagues), he drowned the baby in chemicals.
At the beginning of July, the Nigerian Minister of Environment, Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Sa’id, according to a press article, "reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to checking the spate of deplorable international trade and illtreatment of the nations endangered wildlife. ... He promised the accelerated completion of the on-going review of wildlife regulations towards enhanced enforcement and the establishment of a committee to investigate the current incidence in order to bring the culprits to book."
The Minister said this move came in the wake of series of letters from various conservationists and environmentalists as well as from the CITES Secretariat. More information on this case is provided by IPPL.

Bushmeat overview

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