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| Live chimp |
Three people were arrested in Batouri in
the East Region on November 21, 2016 for illegal possession of a live chimp
they had caged and loaded in a van for transportation to Bertoua to sell.
The
three men were arrested by wildlife officials of the Kadey Divisional
Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife in front of the home of the owner of the
chimp. They had converged to make arrangements and payments for the
transportation of the chimp. The three included the owner of the car, driver of
the car and the owner of the chimp who claimed on the spot that he had been
with the chimpanzee for twelve years.
They
were stopped and rounded up by wildlife officials working in collaboration with
the Batouri Gendarmerie Territorial Brigade in a swift move that left them
surprised.The owner of the car was visibly the more surprised of the three as
tried he to explainghy he was there.
This
did not deter the arresting officers as they quickly got them into the car they
were to use for the transport of the chimp and into another car that brought in
the gendarmes. Shortly after the arrest the Kadey Divisional Delegate of
Forestry and Wildlife, BangyaDieudonne explained that ‘It is a chimpanzee that
had been captured by someone and kept for a long time in detention and he was
preparing to go and sell the animal somewhere”. The operation was carried out
with the technical assistance of The Last Great Ape Operation (LAGA)
The
chimp had been put into a small cage that could barely contain its size
although for a chimp of 6 years, clearly it was too small; had been underfed
and badly treated. It was frail and melancholic with a pitiful face as it
looked on with hopelessness. Specialist say she is 5 or 6 years old despite the
claims from the owner that the chimp had stayed with him for12 years. Bangya
declared that rescue was possible because “we had put in place a strategy and
this enabled us to arrest the individual and the animal rescued”.
The
owner of the chimpanzee had covered the cage containing the animal with a dusty
tarpaulin to hide it from protruding eyes. He is a staff with a logging company
in the East and this raises the old question of logging companies and their
responsibility towards protecting wildlife.
These
companies are facing allegations of not properly tackling wildlife trafficking
and consumption by some of their staffs within the areas where they work and
the operation is a clear reminder of what is going on.
Although
the origin of the chimp was yet to be declared, it is probably an orphan chimp that
found herself in the hands of the suspect after her mother was shot dead. Many
apes find themselves in this situation, ending up living with humans.
Immediately the proper paper work was obtained, in a show of a strong sense of
responsibility, wildlife officials accompanied the chimpanzee right to the
Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee Sanctuary that had dispatched a veterinarian upon
getting the news that Akim, as the chimp was called, had been rescued.
The
journey took two days as Akim was presented to the East Regional Delegate of
Forestry and Wildlife before completing her journey to the sanctuary. She was
immediately quarantined and the Assistant Manager of the Sanaga Yong Chimpanzee
Sanctaury, Nicholas Banadzem declared that “we shall do some tests to ensure
that she doesn’t have diseases such as tuberculosis that may contaminate the
population of chimps we have here and then we do some vaccination including
tetanus vaccine. She can then be integrated into one of the groups of
chimpanzees after a three –month observation period”. That is the new life Akim
is living after her rescue
Meanwhile, the case against the three
traffickers opens at the Batouri Court of First Instance on November 29, 2016
with all three to face charges.
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