A Nigerian conservation NGO that was preparing to receive an African baby gorilla for later repatriation said Saturday that Turkey’s decision to keep it defies logic.
Just before Christmas, the primate was taken to a zoo in the hills outside Istanbul and taken to safety in a wooden crate at the airport in a hurry.
Turkey’s conservation authorities launched the process after a DNA test revealed Zeytin belonged to a non-native species, and Nigeria requested his repatriation.
Zeytin would not be repatriated to Nigeria, but he would be kept in a Turkish zoo, according to Turkish officials’ announcement on Friday.
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Before moving Zeytin and another young gorilla of the same subspecies to a sanctuary in central Africa, the Pandrillus Foundation in Nigeria was preparing to house them.
“We have been incredibly disappointed. What the Turkish government is doing is illogical, according to Liza Gadsby, director of the Pandrillus Foundation.
“And that’s fine if Turkey doesn’t want him to go to a gorilla sanctuary instead of Nigeria.” But they must act responsibly for this animal, she said.
She said that while they should have taken him into consideration when they first seized him, keeping him in Turkey “goes against everything” that they are supposed to be doing under the CITES or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Another gorilla was taken from Nigerian customs more than two years ago, according to The Pandrillus Foundation.
Gadsby announced that the other gorilla’s repatriation process would start on Monday.
She said, “We never intended to keep her.”
Source: Channels TV
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