Posted on 19 January
2011 - Law enforcement officers in Gabon
have arrested five men accused of possessing
illegal animal products, including those
of endangered species.
The raids, conducted
by the country’s Water and Forest and Defense
Ministries with the assistance of WWF partner
AALF, yielded an alarming number of ape,
leopard and elephant parts.
Among the items confiscated
were the head and hands of an endangered
gorilla, along with twelve chimpanzee heads
and 30 chimpanzee hands. The skins of twelve
leopards, a portion of lion skin, snake
skins and five elephant tails were also
discovered.
“WWF commends the Water
and Forest Ministry and AALF for this important
arrest,” said David Greer, WWF African Great
Ape Manager. “However, the massive collection
of protected species confiscated in this
operation is highly disturbing. To my knowledge,
there has not been a seizure of great ape
body parts of this magnitude in Central
Africa over the last ten years.”
AALF, known by the French
acronym for Support for the Application
of the Wildlife Act, is a joint program
of Gabon’s Water and Forest Ministry with
the organizations Conservation Justice and
Brainforest. AALF assists local authorities
with wildlife crime investigations and supports
rigorous prosecutions. It follows a model
established by the Last Great Ape Organization
in Cameroon, which has been replicated with
success in neighboring countries.
“The problem of illegal
wildlife poaching and trade is not specific
to Gabon, such specialized dealers exist
throughout Western and Central Africa. But
these arrests demonstrate that stopping
them is possible with effective law enforcement,”
said Luc Mathot, founder of Conservation
Justice.
The suspects are being
held in custody while an investigation is
conducted. They are expected to appear in
court for legal proceedings this week.
“Recent ivory poaching
prosecutions prove that the judicial authorities
in Gabon now regard wildlife cases with
high importance. We hope they will do the
same for ape and big cat cases such as this
one,” Mathot said.
“This
monumental arrest is only the first step
toward catalyzing positive change in upholding
wildlife law in Gabon. In order to establish
a long-term deterrent to committing wildlife
crime, appropriate consequences must be
applied in this and all cases of illegal
poaching and trade,” said Greer.
