Oppose the monkey shipment to Vietnam

May 20, 2004

Dear IPPL E-Alert List Member:

IPPL has received a report that up to 5,000 non-native monkeys are about to be shipped from Laos to Vietnam, and conservationists fear they are going to be taken to Cat Ba Island for biomedical purposes.

We are asking your help in writing to the appropriate Vietnamese and Laotian officials requesting that they not to allow this project, which will bring suffering and death to thousands of primates now enjoying lives of freedom in the wild and potentially threaten rare native species on Cat Ba.

Cat Ba Island, located about 100 miles east of Ha Noi, is the site of a national park and is known for its amazing biodiversity. Cat Ba is home to many unique native species, including the extremely rare golden-headed Cat Ba langur. Escaped lab monkeys (which are a potential problem with any large primate facility) could infect both animals and humans with a variety of diseases.

The office of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in Ha Noi has reportedly confirmed that it has issued permits to the Trung Viet company (from the city of Hai Phong) to import 5,000 long-tailed macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) from Laos.

The CITES office has so far received no reports from Hai Phong (or from the Forest Protection Department there) regarding the status of the macaque imports, but other informants on Cat Ba have supplied the following information:

1. An unidentified company has reportedly acquired a total of 75 acres of land at two locations close to Cat Ba town.
2. At one of these locations, 30 local people were hired by a Hai Phong company and are currently preparing a macaque holding facility.
3. 2,000 monkeys have reportedly already been imported and are now being kept somewhere in Vietnam's Quang Binh province. They will reportedly be transported to Cat Ba this month.

This entire project raises several areas of concern, colleagues in Vietnam state:

1. Cat Ba Island is important for its biodiversity, and the importation of thousands of non-native primates would constitute a threat to local species (including the rare Cat Ba langur).
2. The logistics of transporting, feeding, and caring for 2,000-5,000 primates are very complicated: Would the animals go through quarantine? Who would be responsible for this? What measures would be taken to make sure none of the animals escape? (Electric fences can keep people out, but may not be enough to keep clever monkeys inside the facility.)
3. If some animals escaped, would they be potential transmitters of herpes B, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and/or other diseases for human beings as well as local wildlife?

Please help the macaque monkeys and all the wild animals living free on Cat Ba Island by sending letters to any or all of the government officials listed below. Letters to Vietnam and Laos cost 80 cents postage from the United States.

Protests to Vietnam

Please urge the Vietnamese officials below to ban the importation of macaque monkeys from Laos or any other country. Monkeys should be allowed to live free in their homelands. Express your opposition to any plan to bring monkeys to Cat Ba Island. Point out that this lovely island is renowned for its wonderful wildlife, and that bringing in monkeys from other areas could cause harm to the local wildlife and have an adverse effect on tourism.

The President
People's Committee of Hai Phong City
18 Hoang Dieu Str.
Hai Phong
Vietnam
(begin your letter "Dear Mr. President" and affix 80 cents postage)

The President
The People's Committee of Cat Hai
Cat Ba
Cat Hai District - Hai Phong Province
Vietnam
Fax: 011-84 31 888423
(begin your letter "Dear Mr. President and affix 80 cents postage)

Dr Nguyen Ba Thu, Director, CITES office in Ha Noi
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Forest Protection Department - Nature Conservation Division
2 Ngoc Ha Str.
Ha Noi
Vietnam
Fax: 011-84 4 733 5685
(begin your letter "Dear Sir" and affix 80 cents postage)

His Excellency Nguyen Tam Chien
1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036, USA
Fax: 202 861 0917
vietnamembassy@msn.com
(begin your letter "Your Excellency")

Protests to Laos

Please contact the Embassy of Laos and the Laos's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry requesting that the wild monkeys of Laos be allowed to live free in their homeland and not be exported to suffer and die in Vietnam or anywhere else in the world.

Dr. Sian Saphangthong
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
Vientiane
Laos
(begin your letter "Dear Sir," and affix 80 cents postage)

His Excellency Phanthong PHOMMAHAXAY
Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
2222 S. Street, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20008
Fax: (202) 332-4923
(begin your letter "Your Excellency")

Thank you, as always

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
International Primate Protection League
PO Box 766
Summerville, SC 29484, USA
Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988
E-mail - smcgreal@ippl.org, Web: www.ippl.org

P.S. Would you like to help support IPPL's own ape sanctuary? Now you can sponsor one of IPPL's own gibbons and receive quarterly updates on "your" animal (Courtney, Beanie, Arun Rangsi--or a gibbon of your choice). Visit www.ippl.org and click on "Adopt an IPPL Gibbon."