Apes in the News

The scale of bushmeat trade in Central Africa may be much larger than
originally thought.

Cambridge, UK - New analytical techniques have revealed that the scale
of bushmeat trade in Central Africa may be much larger than originally
thought, according to a study published today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network.

19/10/2009
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Gorilla dung could conceivably be the salvation of the planet.

A leading UK wildlife expert today said protecting the large primates he called the "gardeners of the forest" could provide the easy fix for global warming envisaged by international reforestation programmes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/13/gorilla-forests-climate-change-redmond

13/10/2009
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Washington/Bonn, 13 October 2009 - The United Nations Ambassador for the Year of the Gorilla, Ian Redmond, has called for the inclusion of gorillas and elephants, as important components in African rainforests, in the upcoming climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

http://media-newswire.com/release_1102545.html

13/10/2009
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by Kate Brumback

The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education, or GRACE, Center is set to open in March, about a year after construction began. It's a joint project of the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and several other organizations.

Fossey made researching the African gorilla population, and rescuing them from poachers and other threats, her life's mission. The Californian lived among the rare mountain gorillas and observed their behavior over roughly 10 years at Karisoke, a research camp she established in Rwanda, before she was killed there in 1985.

Weaver played Fossey in the 1988 movie "Gorillas in the Mist" and is honorary chair of the fund. While filming, Weaver said she spent many days with gorillas.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnbW5CBLwfMCV_wbJyWVLY-CXeaAD9B8HUUG0

10/10/2009
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An Ape Alliance campaign opposing the use of a macaque in a TV advert by the European Commission has been successful!   The anti-smoking commercial featuring a macaque monkey chained around the neck and sitting on a woman's shoulder, screwing up a cigarette packet as she tries to smoke, was broadcast across Europe earlier this year.   On behalf of the Ape Alliance, the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) www.captiveanimals.org wrote to the Commission, advertising agency and UK MEPs calling for the ad to be stopped and for it to be removed from the Commission's website. It was immediately taken off the English and Irish language websites but has finally been removed from all of the different language websites of the EC's HELP campaign.   The Monkey Sanctuary Trust (UK) and FAADA (Spain) also put a lot of effort into this campaign.   In response to a Written Question by Spanish MEP Raül Romeva about the ad, Commissioner for Health Androulla Vassiliou responded to the campaign by saying:   "[Wild] animal species, and in particular primates, should not be used in a way that could encourage their keeping as pet animals. ... The Commission attaches great importance to animal welfare and animals are recognised as sentient beings by the Protocol on Animal Welfare annexed to the EC Treaty.   "Therefore, this particular advert will not be used in for the next phase of the Help 2.0 campaign to be launched in January 2010."   Raül Romeva also called on the Commission to sign a pledge not to use wild animals in future adverts, a move backed by other MEPs including ones across the UK contacted by CAPS.

06/10/2009
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Tomasz Johnson, special to mongabay.com

A chainsaw chugs into life and tears into the trunk of a tree as tall as a two-story house. Petrol and man work together as the chain sets its teeth into the wood and edges its way through. The tree creaks, leans, and falls with a great crash to a backdrop of whoops and cheers.

The sight and sound of tree felling is common in Indonesia, the country with the highest rate of deforestation in the world. The destruction of forests in this archipelago, draped like an emerald necklace across the equator, can be measured in hectares per minute. Today, though, is a good day for the conservationists.

The felled tree is an oil palm, or elaeis guineensis, the native of West Africa that has colonized millions of hectares of Southeast Asia's formerly pristine forests. Its fruit is crushed, processed and bleached to form a flavorless, colorless oil. The invisible ingredient in everything from your chocolate to your shampoo.

Here in Aceh, as elsewhere in Indonesia, oil palm is known as green gold, reaping vast profits for companies based across Asia and the West. Which makes cutting down palms at the height of their productive life very unusual indeed

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1014-johnson_aceh.html

04/10/2009
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