Outrage over alleged plan to export rare animals from Congo to China There is a lack of clarity to this article, but essentially it appears that a Chinese company, acting on behalf of two zoos, attempted to broker a deal for a variety of Congolese wildlife, including Gorillas, Chimps, Bonobos, Okapi and Manatee. This comes from a letter to the company from the Minister for the Environment. Apparently the letter presents the arrangement as already agreed, but in the face of public outcry the minister has denied this is the case and said that he had referred the matter to the ICCN, the official conservation body within the country. I don't know anything about the two zoos involved, Taiyuan Zoo and Anji Zhongnan Zoo. I was planning to avoid any kneejerk reactions to a complex situation, but the following sentence speaks volumes I think: "....the agreement between the government and the Chinese company stipulates that any offspring of the animals should be returned to the wild in DRC." I don't think anyone who was serious about conservation (or the truth) would consider putting their name to that.
I doubt it is true. I have heard of Taiyuan Zoo but not the other one. But I don't think any zoo will get the opportunity to have those rare animals. At least not legally.
There's a copy of the letter here: https://savevirunga.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/photo-2018-06-24-04-10-241.jpg It's in French, which is a language I cannot read although I can get the gist of what it says.
One point from the article that is important to note: "The ICCN issued correspondence distancing itself from the proposal to export animals, urging the government to respect the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (Cites). However, the DRC government has since issued a statement claiming no deal has been reached and that Cites is still evaluating the situation".
