Great Apes are a valuable dish in Northern and Western DRC, and also in the North of Katanga. A good example of this can be seen in their Swahili language: the word for “wildlife” (“ nyama ”) is the same word used for “meat”. Most of the country is underfed and eats what can be eaten. It is not in the local mentality to protect wildlife. People “ordering” young chimpanzees are expatriates, but also members of the Congolese Army and other “high ranking” Congolese who use their uniforms or their power to detain, smuggle and sell little chimpanzees.īeaten up, hardly fed and died as authorities couldn’t seize him this poor little one belonged to a Congolese soldier. (2) Poachers do capture young infants on demand. If you keep in mind that an estimated 10 animals die for every baby taken, an average of 30 chimpanzees die per month and over 400 are lost from the wild every year… Over the ten year period since records began, therefore, the traffic through Lubumbashi alone accounts for in excess of 4000 chimpanzees lost… (1) Per month, about 3 babies are passing through Lubumbashi. It was clear that nobody wanted to help nor to be involved.įranck’s informal report emphasized two main appalling facts which, unfortunately, are still valid today: But, the answer was: ”DRC (former Zaïre) is a dangerous country: due to its political unrest, no action can be taken”. In 1995, Franck asked worldwide wildlife conservation institutions to do something. Over the past 13 years, Franck has recorded alarming observations of ape infants arriving in Lubumbashi for the local ‘pet’ demand or heading for Zambia and South Africa for international trade. įor years, we have seen babies used as pets in expatriate families, and we have witnessed these poor little ones being sold for small change on the streets of Lubumbashi. What you must know before I start telling you our story is that DRC had ratified CITES agreements protecting Great Apes in 1976 and that, since then, nothing has been done to protect Chimpanzees throughout Katanga. It is a self-funded NGO set up by Franck and I in 2006 in Lubumbashi, capital of the Southern Congolese province of Katanga. stands for Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga – Young Confiscated Animals in Katanga. We maintain a sense of hope that someday our work with confiscated wildlife will no longer be necessary because illegal wildlife trafficking has ended due to the efforts of leading organizations like WildAid which works to reduce the global demand and consumption of wildlife products.J.A.C.K. The illegal wildlife trade is complex, reaches every single country on the planet in some form or another, and will take sustained and extraordinary effort to dismantle. Gorilla Doctors is highly committed to caring for infant chimpanzees and other wildlife (other primates, parrots, etc.) that the Congolese wildlife authority, the Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), confiscates and transfers to us for triage. A 2020 report, State of the Apes, from the Arcus Foundation shares, “An individual ape can fetch between USD $10,000 and USD $50,000.Įach time that another innocent animal comes to us, we are angered and heartbroken. The Wildlife Conservation Society estimates the entire illegal wildlife trade (all species trafficked) is between USD $7.8-10 billion with an ever-increasing demand. The ferry arrived at Bukavu in early morning where she was then picked up by Lwiro staff for the two-hour drive to the sanctuary.Īccording to a 2018 report, Illicit Financial Flows and the Illegal Trade in Great Apes, produced by Global Financial Integrity, the estimated annual international market for live infants is $2.1 – $8 million USD. On the ferry she had her own room, which was kept warm and dark to reduce stress. We then provided additional food and water in her crate, covered the crate with blankets and then transferred her to Lwiro on an overnight ferry down Lake Kivu. Fabrice cleans and treats the infant’s wounds.
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