Stolen Apes

In Africa, the proliferation of logging and mining camps in ape range areas has, in addition to rapidly growing towns and vil- lages, fuelled extensive bushmeat markets. These same mar- kets drive the direct killing of adult and juvenile apes and lead to the capture of infants, which are then sold into the live trade. Prices for great apes vary greatly. A poacher may sell a live chimpanzee for USD 50-100, whereas the middleman will re- sell that same chimpanzee at a mark-up of as much as 400 per cent. Orangutans can fetch USD 1,000 at re-sale, and gorillas illegally sold to a zoo in Malaysia in 2002 reportedly went for USD 400,000 each. Such prices are extremely rare however, and the poacher who captures a live specimen may lose it to injuries, illness or stress, or have it confiscated if the poacher is arrested. At best, the actual poachers may earn only a fraction of the ultimate sale price of a great ape. The primary offenders and profiteers of the live trade of apes are criminals who transport great apes by plane, boat, or over land by train and other types of vehicles. The large number of air strips in the African bush, as well as smaller airports found primarily near infrastructure or resource exploration projects, allow smugglers to transport apes directly out on private cargo planes, usually bypassing customs officials. Other smuggling routes involve the ferrying of apes via boat or over land. It is evident from this RRA as well as from previous reports from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and concerned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that the live trade in great apes and the continued violations of the Convention must be taken seriously. The fight against the trade must tackle both organized crime and combat demand, while reducing bushmeat hunting associated with logging, mining, or agricultural expansion. Conservation and law enforcement efforts in protected areas are also crucial for reducing the number of apes being caught. This can only be done if CITES and national laws are enforced, if the trans-boundary criminal networks involved are investi- gated, if traffickers are arrested and prosecuted, if deterrent sentences and punishment are enforced, and if markets for this illegal trade are closed.

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