Gorillas at the Primate Center The Jakarta Post, Tuesday, 27 January 2009
In response to recent letters to The Jakarta Post by Ulrike von Mengden (Dec. 30) and Shirley McGreal (Jan. 2), which questioned the actions of The Aspinall Foundation and Howletts Wild Animal Park in sending gorillas to the Schmutzer Primate Center (SPC), I would make the following statement. Puck Schmutzer's vision was to create an environment for captive primates from around the world that would act as a positive model for zoos in Indonesia and indeed in Asia with its cage design, husbandry and record-keeping. She achieved this with the creation of the Schmutzer Primate Center and, with the direction of Willie Smits, helped create a network of wildlife sanctuaries around the country. Schmutzer believed that, by building the best gorilla enclosure in the world and housing a breeding colony at the Primate Center, these iconic animals would help draw attention to the plight of all primates under threat of extinction (which should be one of the primary roles of any zoo). The incredible number of visitors to the Primate Center validates her vision. The late John Aspinall and Puck Schmutzer were good friends and The Aspinall Foundation has been working in collaboration with SPC since the 1980s. Through a succession of breeding loans between two facilities, the Howletts and Port Lympne, wild animal parks have built up a successfully breeding captive population of Indonesian primates such as Javan gibbons, Javan langurs and leaf monkeys. These exchanges were carried out in full accordance with international guidelines. Here in the UK, the breeding success of these Indonesian species has helped to highlight their plight in the wild. Funds generated from the publicity regarding these Indonesian primates are now being used to help conserve other endangered International Union for Conservation of Nature red-listed primates through in-situ conservation in Java (such as the Javan Gibbon). These projects include a comprehensive field survey of all protected Javan primates being undertaken by the Indonesian Primatological Association in cooperation with the Forestry Ministry and local NGOs in West and Central Java. Also, partial funding of the first international Indonesian Gibbon Workshop in 2008 and majority funding of the 2008 Javan Gibbon Workshop organized by the Forestry Minsitry and the Indonesian Primatological Association. The results of the latter workshop are to be used in preparation of the National Strategy and Action Plan for the conservation of the Javan Gibbon. The Foundation has committed itself to further funding of the priorities agreed to by stakeholders at these workshops. The Aspinall Foundation believes that by working directly with the Schmutzer Primate Center and Ragunan, staff conditions can be improved for the other Indonesian species at the zoo, and Howletts recently hosted two keepers and a vet from Ragunan Zoo and the Schmutzer center for 2 months. We believe, as did Puck Schmutzer, that the best way to improve conditions outside the Schmutzer Primate Center is by positive example and collaboration. Amos Courage The Aspinall Foundation London Source: THE JAKARTA POST URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/27/lettersgorillas-primate-center.html Sikap Peduli Lingkungan? Temukan jawabannya di Yahoo! Answers. http://id.answers.yahoo.com
