Baby Monkey Case - Call to Action

by Shirley McGreal
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IPPL urgently needs more letters in regard to the "Baby Monkey Case." Please take the time to read this update and send a letter to US Attorney General Janet Reno.

The case was only investigated at all after thousands of animal lovers deluged the US government and their congressional representatives with letters demanding justice.

In April and May 1997 two shipments each consisting of over 250 monkeys from Indonesia reached O'Hare Airport, Chicago, USA. The shipments were cleared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) despite suspicious circumstances.

Soon afterwards IPPL received a tip-off that there were baby monkeys in the shipments, obtained proof, and requested USFWS to investigate. US law bars import of unweaned baby animals.

The shipping documents obtained by IPPL show that many babies as young as 3-4 weeks were shipped from the Indonesian firm Inquatex to the consignee LABS, a monkey breeding firm in South Carolina, USA.

Also included in the shipment were nursing mothers and animals as old as 15-16 years. Indonesian law banned export of wild-caught animals. There is no way all these senior monkeys were captive-born because few captive breeding facilities existed at the time.

Animal-lovers deluged the USFWS and their congressional representatives with letters demanding action. Now nearly THREE YEARS have passed and nothing visible has been done, even though Kevin Adams, Chief of the Division of Law Enforcement, admits that it seems there was an "open and shut" case. Here is part of Adams' letter to a tenacious IPPL member:

We opened a criminal investigation of these importations when we learned that our wildlife inspectors had erroneously cleared the shipments in question. We also reviewed our inspection operations in Chicago and introduced new, more rigorous inspection procedures for primate shipments to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

Our investigation of the 1997 importations remains open, and we continue to pursue this case. Whether our efforts will result in a prosecution will depend, as with every Service investigation, on a decision to proceed by the appropriate U.S. Attorney.

We can, of course, appreciate your frustration with the apparent lack of progress in what may, on the surface, appear to be an "open and shut" case... Wildlife crimes are not always a priority for other components of our legal system.

Reading Adams' letter carefully gives the impression that:

• The US Fish and Wildlife Service did undertake some kind of investigation.
• The Department of Justice, which alone can prosecute cases, may be sabotaging the case.
• The Fish and Wildlife Service cannot prosecute its own cases.

The applicable US law states in part:
A nursing mother with young, an unweaned mammal unaccompanied by its mother, or an unweaned bird shall be transported only if the primary purpose is for needed medical treatment and upon certification in writing by the examining veterinarian that the treatment is necessary and the animal is able to withstand the normal rigors of transport. Such an unweaned mammal or bird shall not be transported to the US for medical treatment unless it is accompanied at all times by, and completely accessible to, a veterinary attendant.

The Shipments

In late May 1997, a large shipment of monkeys, including many babies, passed though Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. The shipper was Inquatex, an Indonesian firm, and the consignee LABS of Virginia. One of the mothers was found dead in her crate in Paris. Her suckling baby was killed. After a two-day delay in Paris, the remaining animals were shipped to Chicago, USA.

On learning of the shipment and the deaths through an anonymous tip-off from an eye-witness, IPPL submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to USFWS for details of all monkey shipments reaching the United States from Indonesia in 1997. We learned that an earlier shipment of 253 monkeys including more baby monkeys reached Chicago on Air France on 10 April 1997.

A US Fish and Wildlife Service inspector checked on the Form 3-177 import declaration that 100% of the wildlife was inspected at Chicago. He later informed a caller that he was unaware that the April shipment included babies.

The April shipment consisted of 253 monkeys, including 20 babies and 17 monkeys between one and three months pregnant.

IPPL later received documents for the 30 May shipment which the eye-witness had reported. There were 19 babies in the shipment. One baby was born on 5 May (this baby monkey started his international trip at just THREE weeks old). Other babies were FOUR weeks old.

It is cruel and inhumane to ship a baby monkey just three weeks old on a gruelling international trip. This is why it is prohibited by US law. Six monkeys shipped in the May shipment were reportedly between 2-3 months pregnant.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you are concerned at the status of the investigation, please send letters to:
Attorney-General Janet Reno
US Department of Justice
Washington DC 20530, USA

US members should also contact their congressperson (House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515) and senators (Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510). Overseas members should contact the US Embassy in the capital city of their country of residence.