Dr Pedro Ynterian
President
GAP Project International
30 September 2011
Dear Dr. Ynterian,
Many thanks for your letter voicing your understandable concern over the welfare of
Kifta and Imbi, the two young female gorillas born here in the United Kingdom at
Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks in Kent, which is funded by The
Aspinall Foundation (TAF).
WHY DO THAT?
What are the benefits for nature and gorilla protection when family bonds are broken
and two young gorillas are sent to a zoo on the other side of the world?
In the wild, both male and female gorillas will leave their natal group after puberty in
order to avoid the risk of inbreeding. In captivity, selected gorillas are also moved out
of their birth group at this stage in their lives for the same reason, and from there they
are placed in suitable family breeding groups. In this case, Kifta and Imbi had not
been transferred to Belo Horizonte they would have been transferred to another
appropriate collection.
Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks have nearly forty years experience of
breeding gorillas in captivity and have the best breeding record of the species for
anywhere in the world (130 births to date – the last was born on the 15th August).
Enclosure design, climate, nutrition and welfare standards are all factors that we
consider and review when placing individuals at other collections. After five years of
discussion and working with Belo Horizonte zoo staff, we are confident that they
meet our stringent husbandry and ethical standards.
We have been sending gorillas from both parks to collections all around the world for
many years now, and have also sent a select number of young animals to one of our
reintroduction projects in the forests of Gabon. The health and welfare needs of our
gorillas are always paramount in our plans.
Is John Aspinall Foundation accomplishing its mission?
TAF’s mission is to ensure the survival of endangered species in the wild; and the
current outlook for gorillas is far from positive due to the threat to wild populations
from habitat destruction, the trade in bushmeat as well as disease, factors that are all
responsible for the alarming drop in their numbers over the last few decades.
TAF is playing its part in halting this decline by protecting over a million acres of wild
protected areas in Central Africa, into which we have reintroduced over 60 gorillas
from wild born and captive bred origins. This is the world’s only gorilla reintroduction
project and one of the most successful primate reintroduction projects to have been
attempted.
What is the purpose of sending individuals of a species threatened to extinction in the
wild in the next 20 years to captivity in a zoo, whose only goal is to entertain
humans?
Entertainment does not feature on our list of goals, in fact we agree completely with
your disapproval of such a goal. Our goal is to breed endangered species,
reintroduce them back into the wild where possible. We are adamant the welfare of
all of the species comes first even if that means some species cannot be seen by
visitors
We believe that captive breeding plays an important role in the conservation of
gorillas in the wild by serving as a springboard for in-situ conservation and as
insurance against extinction in the wild, and to educate about the plight of
endangered species.
We don’t use the term zoo because so many zoos (as you correctly infer) have an
ethos and standards that are not in keeping with conservation goals. We believe that
as well as ensuring good standards of welfare and husbandry for the small group of
gorillas now at the collection, Belo Horizonte can help educate visitors about the
plight of gorillas in the wild. Being a wild born gorilla, Idi has an extremely important
bloodline and our hope is that he will father offspring with Kifta and Imbi who will
continue to be ambassadors for the species in the wild.
FOR WHAT?
The foundation supports two projects in Africa: one in Gabon and one in Congo, in
which are done reintroduction work in the wild. It also operates two parks around
Kent, in England, which, according to them, are not zoos, but conservation centers.
Why these two gorillas were not sent to Africa, in an attempt of reintroduction, or why
weren’t them no kept in a sanctuary, with no public exhibition, a major enemy for the
good mental health of great apes?
For a number of reasons not all gorillas (including Kifta and Imbi) born at the parks
are suitable for reintroduction but nevertheless, they play an important role helping
maintain the diversity of the captive population.
Continual public display can be stressful for wild animals if they are looked out ‘on
view’ all day with no visual barriers but as with all species at Howletts and Port
Lympne, Kifta and Imbi will not be locked out and have access to hides or visual
barriers at Belo Horizonte. Visitors who understand this appreciate that the privilege
of seeing some of the shyer species is never guaranteed and any glimpse is more
special for it.
Our experience has taught us that boredom is as damaging to gorillas as unremitting
public display, especially if individuals are alone, so in fact we believe that Kifta and
Imbi are providing much needed company for Idi.
Those who fight for the survival of great apes, in a world idealistic struggle – so they
can have their basic rights and won’t be exploited, nor be kept in zoos for human
entertainment (we kept sanctuaries for that) – do not understand how John Aspinall
Foundation, which develops a very important work in Africa, is now acting as a zoo
supplier of beings who should never be exposed to a public.
The Aspinall Foundation does not exploit the animals in their care and is continually
working to improve husbandry and welfare standards for its charges. The Aspinall
Foundation is dedicated to fostering these values in other collections around the
world including Belo Horizonte.
These values have been instrumental in the many notable captive birth successes at
the parks, including 130 Western Lowland Gorillas (with an 86% survival rate) and 28
Eastern Black rhinoceros (with an 88% survival rate) We are one of the world’s most
successful breeders of Fishing Cats, with a staggering 97% survival rate from 58
births at Port Lympne and within the UK we are the largest breeders of clouded
leopards (78 successful births) and we are the most successful UK collection
breeding De Brazza’s monkeys.
The African elephant herd at Howletts is the largest in Europe and has had more
births than all other British collections combined. In Europe we also hold the largest
group of Malayan tapirs (6) with 9 successful births to date. Howletts is the only
collection outside of their native country to house grizzled leaf monkeys (22 births to
date with an 82% survival rate) and is world leader in breeding the critically
endangered Moloch gibbon (32 births to date with an 84% survival rate).
To date, TAF has successfully reintroduced gorillas, black rhinoceros and Przewalski
horses to protected areas in the wild. It is spearheading a project to halt the
extinction of critically endangered greater bamboo lemurs in Madagascar and has
just initiated a major project in Indonesia for the conservation of Javan primates.
Yours sincerely,
Damian Aspinall
Chairman,
The Aspinall Foundation.