Click on headline to jump to article.
SOUTH AFRICAN RESEARCHER THREATENS TO STAGE ILLEGAL TESTS ON CHIMPS
CHIMPANZEE COLLABORATORY TO STAGE CHIMPS' RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM
FUTURE GRIM FOR WORLD'S GREAT APES
FAMILY TREE EARNS MORE PRAISE
PASA SIGNS ON AS GRASP PARTNER
"LIVING ON EARTH" RADIO INTERVIEW WITH SIDDLE
GERMAN RAFFLE RAISES FUNDS FOR CHIMFUNSHI
SECOND GENERATION BIRTH HIGHLIGHTS BABY BOOM AT CHIMFUNSHI
SIDDLE U.S. LECTURE TOUR A SUCCESS
CHIMFUNSHI TAKES PART IN PASA CONFERENCE
MOJA, BELOVED SIGN-LANGUAGE CHIMP, PASSES AWAY
ALPHIE DIES FROM SNAKE BITE
IVORY COAST CHIMPS SWELL CHIMFUNSHI NURSERY
DUTCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO END CHIMP EXPERIMENTS
WALL STREET JOURNAL EXAMINES CHIMPS RIGHTS
DISCOVER MAGAZINE PROFILES LAB CHIMPS
SHEILA SIDDLE TO LECTURE IN U.S.
CHIMPANZEE COLLABORATORY CONVENES IN U.S.
VISSERS FAMILY NOW A THREESOME
DAVID SIDDLE SIDELINED BY LEG INJURY
SIDDLE'S 'FAMILY TREE' EARNS PRAISE
'NEXT OF KIN' INSPIRES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
CHIMFUNSHI ADDS SEEC LINK
IPPL PREPS FOR MEMBERS MEETING
CONTROVERSIAL CHIMPANZEE STUDY UP FOR REVIEW
CHIMFUNSHI POSTER CORRECTION
'FAMILY TREE' TELLS CHIMFUNSHI STORY
RARE WHITE CHIMP DRAWS INTEREST TO TACUGAMA
NEW CHIMPANZEE SANCTUARY SET FOR UGANDA
ZAMBIAN WILDLIFE AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES 5-YEAR PLAN
CHIMFUNSHI TRUSTEE PICKED FOR GREAT APE POST
PASA WORKSHOP 2002 SET FOR KENYA
IFAW BUSHMEAT VIDEO AVAILABLE ON-LINE
IPPL STEPS UP SANCTUARY APPEAL
SOUTH AFRICAN RESEARCHER THREATENS TO STAGE ILLEGAL TESTS ON CHIMPS
A South African doctor is planning to illegally capture wild chimpanzees - which are endangered - to use in an HIV vaccine experiment, according to a recent article in the South African Sunday Times newspaper. Despite stinging criticism from environmentalists, including chimp expert Jane Goodall, Dr Victor Toma is unapologetic. "I am planning to break the law for the good of humanity," he told the newspaper. Toma placed a newspaper advert, on the eve of the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa, seeking financial support for an HIV vaccine study on live chimps. He said he plans to get the six to 11 chimps from the Democratic Republic of Congo. When contacted by a Sunday Times journalist, posing as a potential investor on Wednesday, Toma admitted that his experiment was "not perfectly legal." " It could take years to get permission to conduct the experiment in South Africa via a legal process that was "cumbersome and not feasible", he explained. But the creatures were easy to capture, for a small fee, in or near the DRC.They would be infected with HIV and injected with the vaccine "on a farm in northern Zambia" in a three- month pilot study costing about R100 000, he said.There was a fortune to be made if the vaccine worked, claimed the 65-year-old doctor who is a consultant specialising in blood diseases at Kimberley Hospital. When confronted by the Sunday Times, Toma said: "Chimpanzees are protected on paper. But morally they are not. Thousands are invading farms in the Congo and Zambia. They are a pest."
CHIMPANZEE COLLABORATORY TO STAGE CHIMPS' RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM
Should chimpanzees have legal rights un U.S. law? Do they have interests that warrant legal protection? Does their intelligence make them deserving of rights previously reserved for humans? Jane Goodall, Alan Dershowitz, Cass Sunstein and other leading lawyers, scientists, and legal professors will address these issues at an extraordinary Harvard Law School Symposium, "The Evolving Legal Status of Chimpanzees," to be held Monday, September 30, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The symposium will explore the current legal status of chimpanzees and its evolution within our legal system. Other speakers will include primatologist Roger Fouts ( a former winner of the Chimfunshi Pal Award) , animal rights author Steve Wise, Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham, and Tufts ethics professor Paul Waldau. For more information, please visit the Chimpanzee Collaboratory website.
FUTURE GRIM FOR WORLD'S GREAT APES
Less than 10 percent of the habitat now inhabited by the great apes of Africa will be left undisturbed by 2030 if road building, mining camps and other infrastructure developments continue at current levels, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa. Findings for the orangutans of Southeast Asia appear even bleaker. The report indicates that in 28 years there will be almost no habitat left that can be considered "relatively undisturbed." The study includes findings by scientists from Norway and the United States. UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer warned, "Roads are being built in the few remaining pristine forests of Africa and South East Asia to extract timber, minerals and oil. Uncontrolled road construction in these areas is fragmenting and destroying the great apes' last homes and making it easier for poachers to slaughter them for meat and their young more vulnerable to capture for the illegal pet trade...Saving the great apes is also about saving people. By conserving the great apes, we will also protect the livelihoods of the many people that rely on forests for food, medicine and clean water. Indeed the fate of the Great Apes has great symbolic implications for humankind's ability to develop a more sustainable future."
FAMILY TREE EARNS MORE PRAISE
In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees, the autobiography of Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle, continues to receive praise and positive reviews since its publication in May by Grove / Atlantic Inc. Booklist, a service of the American Library Association, called Family Tree "always engrossing" and stated that "Siddle's memoir gives the reader a real feeling for the complex chimps that populate Chimfunshi." Meanwhile, the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal newspaper described the book as "a wonderful addition to the genre" and said it stands apart from chimp books written by scientists. "Siddle's book is different," the review said. "It tells us what scientific writers leave out. She writes about the humanity of chimps."
PASA SIGNS ON AS GRASP PARTNER
The Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA), which represents Chimfunshi and the 16 other chimp, gorilla and primate sanctuaries in Africa, has agreed to become an official partner of the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP). PASA joins a select list of partners that includes the African Wildlife Foundation, the Jane Goodall Institute, and the Born Free Foundation in supporting GRASP, which was created by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in order to try and save the world'as rapidly dwindling great apes and their habitats.
"LIVING ON EARTH" RADIO INTERVIEW WITH SIDDLE
Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle was recently profiled by the popular National Public Radio (NPR) program, "Living On Earth." Interviewed at the NPR studios in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, during the lecture tour to promote her autobiography, Siddle spoke with "Living On Earth" host Diane Toomey in a segment entitled, "A Life With Chimps." To read a transcript of the interview, listen to a portion on your computer, or order a cassette tape of the discussion, please visit the "Living On Earth" website and visit the July 19, 2002, archive.
GERMAN RAFFLE RAISES FUNDS FOR CHIMFUNSHI
The annual raffle and motorcyle rally staged by Chimfunshi trustee Stephan Louis of Germany has raised approximately $5,000 for the sanctuary. More than 10,000 tickets were sold by noon on the day of the Hamburg rally, with winners receiving gifts donated by morotcycle suppliers. All of the proceeds will directly benefit Chimfunshi.
SECOND GENERATION BIRTH HIGHLIGHTS BABY BOOM AT CHIMFUNSHI
The recent birth of a female baby to Ingrid, the first chimpanzee ever born at Chimfunshi, marks the start of a second generation at the sanctuary. "Ilse," who was named after longtime Chimfunshi supporter Ilse Mwanza, was born to 11-year old Ingrid on May 7, 2002, and continues to live with her mother and the other chimps in one of the 500-acre enclosures. Ingrid was the first offspring of Liza Do Little back in 1991. Other recent births at Chimfunshi include Gerard (to Girly), Debbie (to Donna), Claire (to Coco), Marc (to Maggie), Penny (to Pippa), Dave (to Diana), Vis (to Violet), and Mads (to Masya).
SIDDLE U.S. LECTURE TOUR A SUCCESS
Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle completed a whirlwind lecture tour of the United States in May, delivering 11 lectures in support of her autobiography, In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees (Grove / Atlantic). Siddle began April 30 in Boston and finished May 17 in Dallas, using the tour to both promote the book and the Chimfunshi sanctuary. Siddle (pictured above at a book-signing reception in Boston) took part in dozens of radio, TV and print interviews, met with students ranging from children to university-level, visited the Zambian embassy in Washington, D.C., attended a party in her honor in New York City, conversed with sign-language apes in Atlanta, and caught up with old friends such as Carole Noon, Shirley McGreal, Geza Teleki and Dale Peterson. Meanwhile, In My Family Tree continues to receive positive reviews -- including a recent review by Booklist that called it "always engrossing" -- and German and Dutch-language editions are due out in the coming months.
CHIMFUNSHI TAKES PART IN PASA CONFERENCE
Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle attended the third annual Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA) Workshop that was held June 3-7 at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Kenya. Although David Siddle had been scheduled to attend, his recent leg injury forced Sheila Siddle to fill in, and she joined the 16 other African sanctuary managers in helping draft protocol and forge bonds that will help the sanctuary movement grow even stronger. In addition, Chimfunshi trustee Doug Cress was elected as PASA secreteriat for 2003.
MOJA, BELOVED SIGN-LANGUAGE CHIMP, PASSES AWAY
Moja, one of the five chimpanzees under the care of Roger and Deborah Fouts at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) in Ellensburg, Washington, USA, died on June 3 due to complications from an internal infection. Moja had been ill for a few days prior to her death, but slipped away quickly. The loss hit the CHCI community hard, but the remaining four chimps were equally affected; Tatu signed HURT and CRY to human friend and Dar signed CRY as well. Washoe, the matriarch of the group, was very introspective and sat looking into Moja's night enclosure for an extended period. Moja was known for her love of clothing, magazines and the color "red," and is pictured on the paperback versions of Roger Fouts' autobiography, Next of Kin.
ALPHIE DIES FROM SNAKE BITE
Alphie, a young male chimpanzee that joined Chimfunshi in March, 1999, after being rescued from a garage in South Africa, died suddenly on April 30 at the age of four after being bitten by a poisonous snake in the 14-acre enclosure. Although smaller than most of the chimps in his nursery group, Alphie's ego, temper, and intelligence indicated he would probably challange one day for dominance. Yet Alphie was also an extremely compassionate chimp, and went out of his way over the years to care for Louise, another baby. Alphie -- whose name was derived form the notion that he would one day become "alpha" male -- will be greatly missed.
IVORY COAST CHIMPS SWELL CHIMFUNSHI NURSERY
Two young chimps that had been raised in a private home in the Ivory Coast were transferred to Chimfunshi on April 16 after their owners agreed to find them a permanent home. Berta, a three-year old female, and Chiffon, a three-year old male, were the seventh and eighth chimps to join the latest nursery group. Both chimps were acquired by Italian nationals living in the western region of the Ivory Coast after being found in local markets and are presumed to be orphans of the bushmeat trade. Although raised with humans and initially fearful of the other chimps in the nursery, Berta and Chiffon were placed alongside another recent arrival -- Commando, who came just two weeks before -- and were soon playing and laughing as one.
DUTCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO END CHIMP EXPERIMENTS
The Dutch parliament voted unanimously recently to transfer the last remaining European Union laboratory chimpanzees to animal sanctuaries and cease all further tests on chimpanzees. The vote, which came after an extended lobby effort by the Coalition to End Expirimentation on Chimpanzees in Europe (CEECE), compels the Biomedical Primate Research Center (BPRC) in Holland to relocate its chimps to qualified anctuaries by the end of the year. As a result, 23 chimps that have been infected with the HIV, SIV, or Hepatitis viruses will go to a facility that is managed by the Stichting Aap organization, while another 34 non-infected chimps will be transferred to a sanctuary in Alicante, Spain.
WALL STREET JOURNAL EXAMINES CHIMPS RIGHTS
A front-page article in a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal created a flurry of controversy when it examined the pros and cons of extending legal rights to chimpanzees. The story, written by WSJ staff writer Davif Bank, argued that chimps often have more highly developed brains and more complex emotions, yet are denied the rights given to infant human beings. Said Harvard University Law School professor Laurence Tribe: "The whole status of animals as 'things' is what needs to be rethought. Non-human animals certainly can be given standing."
·
DISCOVER MAGAZINE PROFILES LAB CHIMPS
The April, 2002, issue of Discover magazine takes hard look at the plight of laboratory chimps in the article, "An Embarassment of Chimps." Written by Joseph D'Agnese, the article traces the disastrous decision by the U.S. government to breed chimpanzees for laboratory research, only to find that a staggering surplus soon existed. To read the whole story, visit the Discover magazine website.
SHEILA SIDDLE TO LECTURE IN U.S.
Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle (pictured above with Miracle) will conduct an 11-city lecture tour of the U.S. in support of her autobiography, In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees (Grove / Atlantic Press). The tour, which will feature a slide-show presentation, is sponsored by Holiday Inn & Crowne Plaza Hotels, Budget Rent a Car, and the Great Ape Project and will begin April 30 at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Massachusetts. The complete schedule:
Tuesday, April 30 Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (North Grafton, Mass.), noon
Wednesday, May 1 Zoo New England (Boston), 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 2 Yale / Peabody Museum (New Haven, Conn.), 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 Book Expo of America (New York), 11 a.m.
Tuesday, May 7 U. of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital - VHUP (Philadelphia), noon
Thursday, May 9 The National Zoo (Washington, D.C.), 8 p.m.
Friday, May 10 Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.), noon
Monday, May 13 Fernbank Museum (Atlanta), 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 14 Chattanooga Zoo (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 16 Dallas Zoo (Dallas), 7 p.m.
Friday, May 17 Womens Museum (Dallas), 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 21 Detroit Zoo (Detroit), 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 23 -- Field Museum (Chicago), 6:30 p.m.
CHIMPANZEE COLLABORATORY CONVENES IN U.S.
The Chimpanzee Collaboratory, a consortium of eight leading great ape welfare, rights and conservation groups, convened recently in Seattle, Washington, USA, to unveil ambitious plans for protecting chimpanzees in the wild and extending greater rights to those in captivity. The Collaboratory is funded by a 3-year, $1 million grant from The Glaser Foundation and includes groups such as the Jane Goodall Institute, the Great Ape Project, the Friends of Washoe, and the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care, among others. Primary objectives include the elimination of chimpanzees in entertainment within five years, securing World Heritage Species status for chimps from UNESCO, and winning greater legal protection for captive chimps. For more information, please visit the Collaboratory website.
VISSERS FAMILY NOW A THREESOME
Chimfunshi keepers Ian and Katherine Visser (pictured above) recently welcomed their first child into the world, returning to the orphanage after an extended break with Nicole Caitlin Visser, who was born December 27 in Johannesburg. Nicole was more than a week overdue, but is a happy and healthy baby. The Vissers, who celebrated their honeymoon at Chimfunshi several years ago, were hired as permanent keepers in March 2000.
DAVID SIDDLE SIDELINED BY LEG INJURY
Chimfunshi co-founder David Siddle (pictured above with his wife, Sheila, and Miracle) has been placed in traction for eight weeks at a hospital in Chingola after suffering a broken femur (thigh bone) in an accident at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage. Siddle, who is 7, tripped and fell early one morning down a concrete flight of stairs behind the home he shares with Sheila Siddle. He was taken to Chingola for treatment but was not allowed to return to the farm for fear of infection or further damage. As a result, Siddle will be forced to miss his wifes upcoming lecture tour of the U.S. To send David Siddle a "Get Well" message, either e-mail or write to: Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, P.O. Box 11190, Chingola, Zambia.
SIDDLE'S 'FAMILY TREE' EARNS PRAISE
The autobiography of Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle, In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees (Grove / Atlantic Press) won't be released until May 1, yet the book is already earning positive reviews and high praise. Kirkus Reviews gave the book a star for "unusual merit" and called it "exhilarating -- even heroic," concluding, "If the orphanage has but a fraction of the warmth and tenderness of Siddle's voice in this story, then the word 'sanctuary' would fit well." Former Chimfunshi Pal Award winners Roger and Deborah Fouts wrote, "Sheila Siddle's story...is a testimony to human bravery and compassion that will lift the spirits of all who read it." Wildlife expert Richard Leakey said, "An amazing tale...Emotional, but certainly a 'must be read' book," while elephant researcher Cynthia Moss enthused, "Oh, how I wish there were more Sheila and David Siddles in this world...Their story...is well-paced, in turns poignant and amusing, but above all inspiring."
NEXT OF KIN' INSPIRES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
A unique educational curriculum designed to introduce students to the issues surrounding the use of animals in science has been introduced in the United States. "Next of Kin," which is named after the book of the same name by former Pal Award winner Roger Fouts, is a joint project created by the Friends of Washoe, the Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute (CHCI), and the New England Anti-Vivisection Society. The curriculum includes 25 lesson plans and an inter-active CD-ROM and educates students on issues regarding free-living and captive chimps as well as encouraging discussion on the ethics of experimentation on animals. For more information, contact Rachel Fouts Carrico at CHCI.
·
CHIMFUNSHI ADDS SEEC LINK
Chimfunshi's award-winning website, which has received over 21,500 "hits" since going on-line in August, 1999, has added links to two organizations that are fighting for the conservation and welfare of great apes. Stop Experimentation on & Exploitation of Chimpanzees (SEEC), a non-profit organization in the U.S. that monitors and opposes the use of chimpanzees in entertainment and scientific experiments, is based in Washington state, and can be contacted via e-mail or by writing to SEEC, P.O. Box 1523, Mercer Island, WA, 98040, USA. The Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation is a non-profit sanctuary in southern Florida, USA, that was founded in 1993 by Patti Ragan, an animal welfare specialist who helped arrange the transfer of Masya from Haiti to Chimfunshi one year later. The Center can be contacted by writing Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation, P.O. Box 488, Wachula, FL, 33873, USA.
IPPL PREPS FOR MEMBERS MEETING
The International Primate Protection League's biennial Members' Meeting will be held March 22-24 at the IPPL headquarters in Summerville, South Carolina, USA. Among the featured guests will be chimpanzee experts Roger and Deborah Fouts, undercover laboratory investigator Matt Rossell, Ugandan wildlife veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, and primate expert Dr. Govindaswamy Agoramoorthy, and registrayion is just USD $90 (R800) for the conference. IPPL, which was founded 29 years ago, continues to fight for primate welfare, rights and conservation through its chapters around the world. For more information, visit the IPPL website or contact IPPL via e-mail.
CONTROVERSIAL CHIMPANZEE STUDY UP FOR REVIEW
A controversial chimpanzee "cross-fostering" study that would place baby chimps in human households to gauge the effects is again being considered by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the U.S. The study, which is proposed by Dr. Daniel Povinelli through a USD $1 million (R9 million) grant from the McDonnell Foundation, was first announced two years ago, then withdrawn by the university after igniting a firestorm of protest, including opposition from Jane Goodall and Roger Fouts, among others. Primate experts belief the trauma and anxiety to the chimps -- which would spend five years in the study -- is cruel and uneccesary. To oppose the study, send e-mails to ULL president Ray Authement, vice-president Duane Blumberg, and review board members Dana Hasselschwert, Cary Heath, and Cheryl Lynch.
·
CHIMFUNSHI POSTER CORRECTION
The Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage credited the wrong photographer both on-line and in the most recent newsletter with taking the picture of the three babies -- Brian, Clement and Thompson -- that is currently for sale as a poster. Longtime Chimfunshi supporter Ingrid Regnell of Sweden snapped the picture. Chimfunshi regrets the error.
'FAMILY TREE' TELLS CHIMFUNSHI STORY
The highly anticipated autobiography of Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle will be released in May, 2002, giving readers an inside look at the sacrifice, devotion and care that went into building the world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary. In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees, which includes a foreword by famed primatologist Jane Goodall, will be published by Grove / Atlantic Press in the United States on May 1, then released around the world in the following months. In fact, Dutch and German translations have already been contracted, and other versions are in the offing. The book is based upon the meticulous diaries Siddle kept since establishing Chimfunshi in 1983, and includes in-depth sections on chimps such as Milla, Sandy, and Rita, along with memories of Siddle's own trek to Africa as a teenager in 1947, her passion for motorcars, and the fragile courtship she and David Siddle shared in the 1960s. Sheila Siddle will travel to the U.S. for the launch of the book, then conduct a multi-city lecture tour to promote sales.
RARE WHITE CHIMP DRAWS INTEREST TO TACUGAMA
Pinkie, an extremely rare white chimpanzee that resides at the Tacugama Sanctuary in Freetown, Sierra Leone, has become a tourist attraction for the refuge. The chimp, which is not a genetic albino, is one of the very few white great apes known to exist in captivity. Pinkie (pictured above alongside Jojo) is one of 52 chimps that reside at Tacugama.
NEW CHIMPANZEE SANCTUARY SET FOR UGANDA
The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) has announced plans to establish another chimpanzee sanctuary on Nsadzi Island on Lake Victoria in Uganda. The reserve, which will cover 40 acres, lies close to the JGI sanctuary already in operation at Ngamba Island. The Nsadzi Island sanctuary will become the 18th great ape refuge in Africa. According to Dr. Richard Ssuna of JGI, approxmiately 10 of the chimps currently living at Ngamba Island will be re-located to the new reserve, thereby relieving a dangerous over-crowding problem and establishing a new social grouping.
ZAMBIAN WILDLIFE AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES 5-YEAR PLAN
The Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) is set to embark on a five-year strategic plan to revamp the country's game parks and game management areas. ZAWA has indicated it will strengthen law enforecement in protected areas and solicit support from international agencies as it seeks to reverse more than two decades of declining tourism and revenue through game parks. ZAWA, which is backed by NORAD, The World Bank, and the Frankfurt (Germany) Zoological Society in this venture, also intends to link the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park to the Kafue National Park, creating a substantially larger eco-system.
UGANDA REDUCES GORILLA TOURIST RATES
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has decided to reduce its rates for tourists wihsing to visit the Mountain Gorillas in an effort to promote tourism in East Africa. According to UWA Tourism Development Manager Lilly Ajarova, special East African resident rates have been introduced, reducing the permit for gorilla tracking from $275 to $210 in Bwindi National Park, while in Mughinga, the permit is now $180 down from $220 per person. Students in East Africa with valid identity cards, will also have charges reduced for the various services. UWA is working to encourage more East African regional co-operation, said Ajarova, adding that the national parks and game reserves are run by concessionaires, but the UWA charges entry fees, the lounge ride, dormitory accommodation and gorilla tracking. She explained that 20% of the revenue from the services provided by UWA is given to communities in the vicinity of the park to build facilities such as schools and health clinics.
CHIMFUNSHI TRUSTEE PICKED FOR GREAT APE POST
The Great Ape Project (GAP) hired Chimfunshi trustee Doug Cress as its Executive Director on January 3, the first step in an aggressive expansion plan designed to give GAP a greater role in elevating the legal and moral status of nonhuman great apes throughout the world. Cress (pictured above with Thompson) also serves as president of Chimfunshi-USA, and will continue in both roles even as he assumes the GAP position. "We are looking forward to working with Doug as GAP enters a new phase of its existence," said Dr. Paul Waldau, GAP's vice-president. "GAP has always fought for basic protections and the rights of fellow great apes but now we intend to broaden our efforts to ensure that these remarkable individuals are recognized around the world as beings who deserve our respect and compassion." GAP was founded in 1994 to provide basic legal protection to gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos, and now includes chapters throughout Europe, South America, Asia and Oceania. Among the organization's current initiatives are GAP's Census Project, which seeks to locate and identify all of the nonhuman great apes kept in captivity in the United States, and the Declaration on Great Apes, a petition that calls for basic protection to be extended to nonhuman great apes.
·
PASA WORKSHOP 2002 SET FOR KENYA
The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), which represents all 18 primate sanctuaries in Africa, has selected Kenya to host its third annual conference. The PASA Workshop 2002 will be staged at the Mount Kenya Safari Club from June 4-7, with the Sweetwaters sanctuary and game reserve as the host organization. PASA seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between the sanctuaries, and draws representatives from throughout Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, in addition to major funders from Europe and the United States.
IFAW BUSHMEAT VIDEO AVAILABLE ON-LINE
A powerful and hard-hitting video advertisement that seeks to end the bushmeat trade has been produced by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and is available to be downloaded at the organization's website. The film, which is 90 seconds in length, cross-cuts brutal images of apes being hunted with forests being decimated by loggers. In fact, Chimfunshi co-founder Sheila Siddle found the film so moving that she insisted it be played during her recent lecture in London at the Royal Geographical Society. IFAW unveiled the film as part of its anit-bushmeat campaign, which included the presentation of 1.8 million signatures gathered in association with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to the European Parliament on November 6, 2001, calling for an end to the bushmeat trade.
IPPL STEPS UP SANCTUARY APPEAL
The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) recently accelerated efforts to raise funds on behalf of several African primate sanctuaries hit hardest by civil unrest and unstable economies. IPPL, which was founded by longtime Chimfunshi associate Dr. Shirley McGreal in 1973, is urging members to donate money on behalf of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone, the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon, and the CERCOPAN sanctuary in Nigeria.