Thank you for publishing Andrew Ong's coverage of the case known as 'The Taiping Four' ('Cameroon wants gorillas back where they belong').

This case has great bearing in the world of animal welfare and wildlife conservation because gorillas and all other non-human primates are collectively the most imperiled group of mammals on our planet. Capture for export and poaching have an enormous impact on the dwindling numbers of primate species.

Gorilla poachers concentrate on shooting gorilla mothers, and for every baby successfully captured, many more babies, their mothers and other members of the gorilla troop who attempt to protect the babies are killed. If this appalling trade is not stopped, the outlook for the future survival of gorillas and other primate species is dismal.

I have been following the 'The Taiping Four' case since the International Primate Protection League obtained a copy of the Nigerian export permit issued to the Ibadan Zoo in Nov 2001, which falsely described the gorillas as having been 'captive-born'.

Given Pretoria Zoo's abysmal record with gorillas, I share the concern of many wildlife experts about the fate of these four gorillas and agree with the widely-held opinion that they should not be sent to Pretoria Zoo, nor any other zoo in South Africa. Even if Pretoria Zoo had an impeccable record with captive gorillas, many officials and businesses in South Africa (including the national airline) played an essential role in the sordid smuggling of these four gorillas.

As such, an opportunity should not be allowed for it to be perceived that South Africa is being 'rewarded', nor should it be made to appear that a market for gorillas exists.

On the topic of creating a market for gorillas, it is indisputable that Taiping Zoo coveted gorillas and wished to acquire them. Taiping Zoo had been advertising 'Gorillas Wanted' on the Southeast Asian Zoos Association's website as early as Feb 2001 with its director Kevin Lazarus listed as the contact person.

One must ask: To what length is the Taiping Zoo willing to go to obtain the gorillas? There is much evidence that there are Malaysian parties who were knowledgeable about and culpable for the illegal importation of these gorillas and that prosecution of Taiping Zoo officials is warranted.

According to one South African news article, four officials from Malaysia visited Ibadan Zoo in 2001 to discuss their desire to acquire gorillas. It is unclear if Taiping Zoo director Kevin Lazarus was one of the visitors.

However, the officials who did visit must have realized that Ibadan Zoo was incapable of having 'captive-born' gorillas, since the zoo had one lone gorilla. Was this not reported to Kevin Lazarus (if indeed he did not visit himself)?

Additionally, in July 2003, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding was reported as having admitted that officials of Taiping Zoo knew that the baby gorillas were illegally sourced.

I hope malaysiakini will follow the investigation and report if and when there is a prosecution of guilty parties.