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Record Parrot Bust Buries Limbe Wildlife Center

4 February 2010

Categories: Homepage News, Zoo Check Campaign News, PAW News

More than 1,000 endangered African Grey parrots were delivered to the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon this week after being confiscated as part of a $1.5 million illegal shipment at the Douala Airport.

The shipment – which was scheduled to be loaded on to Ethiopian Airlines despite a complete lack of CITES documentation – was the largest on record and is the third major bust of African Grey parrots in Cameroon the past two years.

In November, Limbe also received more than 300 parrots from a similar confiscation, many of which still reside at the sanctuary. Limbe staff members are currently scrambling to prepare cages and treat the parrots, many of which are injured or ill. In fact, 47 parrots were found dead at the bottom of the crates upon arrival, and another 30 did not survive the first day.

“It is crazy,” said Limbe manager Simone de Vries. “It makes you sick to see how the parrots are packed in the boxes, the weaker ones trampled by the strongest.”

The bust was coordinated by the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA), in coordination with Cameroonian law enforcement officials.

The shipment of parrots was destined for Kuwait International Airport and the Bahrain International Airport, a clear link that the illegal trade of wildlife out of Africa continues to flow directly to the Middle East. Ethiopian Airlines, which had previously announced it would no longer transport exotic animals, operates regular service to both countries via Addis Ababa.

The Limbe Wildlife Center was converted to a primate sanctuary in 1993 on the grounds of the old Victoria Zoo. But Limbe still receives a wide variety of confiscated wildlife, many of which it returns to the wild upon regaining health.

Born Free supported Limbe is a charter member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), which was formed in 2000 to coordinate rescue and rehabilitation efforts among primates sanctuaries in Africa. For more information, please visit the PASA website.