Baraza

Category: wildlife trade | Date: Aug 16 2008 | By: baraza

Congratulations to the ICCN for busting up an ape trafficking ring.

While it’s such a relief that the baby chimpanzeeTonga was rescued, it’s depressing that chimp and gorilla trading seems to be the order of the day in some parts of the Congo.

This particular chimp was in captivity for over three months before this operation took place! We’ve been receiving tips on and off for a while now. We have heard that there are some south Africans in Goma with chimps in their garden, and we also reported an observation of a chimp or possibly gorilla baby being trafficked by boat across lake Kivu to Goma by 4 Americans! The baby was carried away in a vehicle belonging to a reputable ape conservation group! It probably ended up being flown out of Goma airport.

Seeing the look on baby Tonga’s face, and receiving further reports of how openly this trade is happening it’s heart wrenching. I trust that with Emmanuel at the helm, these two  incidents will be investigated and the culprits brought to book.

Incidentally, it’s not just DR Congo where ape trade seems to be in the hands of the military - we have reports of similar behaviour by officials in southern Sudan.

Emmanuel, Pierre, and everyone else involved, please be carerful - the Congolese military sounds like a bit of a shambles if this kind of thing is happening.

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Tags: chimpanzee trafficking, DR Congo, ICCN, illegal trade in apes

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