Messages From Government Officials

December 2003

Among the government officials with who IPPL has worked for many years, two stand out: Mohammed Khan of Malaysia and Bourama Niagate of Mali. Here are their messages in honor of IPPL and our Chairwoman Shirley McGreal.

Message from Mohd Khan Momin Khan, former Wildlife Chief of Malaysia

It was several decades ago that Shirley, Marjorie Doggett, and I corresponded to ban the export of the long-tailed macaques and smuggling of gibbons from Malaysia. We never met at that time, but wrote to one another.

Shirley with Mohammed Khan

I was on a plane to Delhi, where I was to attend the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Along came a lady and, incredibly, she sat next to me. A while later she started talking about primates and what she was doing to conserve them. I listened and had an idea as to who she might be. She asked me if I liked primates, and I responded, pretending that I did not! She was, I believed, completely surprised when I told her that I was the person from Malaysia she was corresponding with! We had a great meeting and did a great deal since then to protect and conserve primates in Malaysia.

The ban on the export of long-and short-tailed macaques was approved by the Malaysian Government after considerable efforts were made. Shirley and Marjorie played a vital role in providing information on the high moralities suffered by animals during transport and at their final destinations. Those that survived were subjected to research that was often cruel. Malaysians became aware and realized what was happening to their primates: they supported the ban that has remained to this day.

Gibbons were totally protected in Malaysia and we had very good information from IPPL that brought the smuggling down to almost zero. Malaysia became a Party to CITES one year after it was created. We received a lot of information from IPPL on the importance of CTIES in controlling wildlife smuggling and convinced the Minister to get Malaysia to join CTIES. There were probably fewer problems in Malaysia than in many countries around the world but CITES intercepted a few cases of wildlife smuggling from Malaysia. It was a great experience for me, thanks to IPPL.

Greetings from Bourama Niagate, Wildlife Department of Mali, West Africa

Let me address to all of the associates of IPPL my best wishes for a very happy birthday to celebrate its 30 years of existing for the protection of our friends the primates. For me it’s a real pleasure to learn that your organization now has reached the age of an adult human capable of thoughtfully working for the protection of animals in general and for primates in particular.

I am also very happy to learn of all the tributes to Shirley, who is a very close friend of mine. She is a person very well respected by our wildlife service in Mali for all the efforts she never ceases to conduct for the safety of primates.

I wish you all a long and happy life and excellent health. May the Almighty accompany you in all your work! I am now establishing my own non-governmental organization name AMEPANE, and we hope to collaborate with IPPL.

Bourama Niagate

I have always enjoyed being with Shirley for her good advice and sociability. She has an open and honest humanity. I reiterate all my compassion for you and all the IPPL gibbons and all the world’s primates.

It’s now 30 years that Shirley has searched for ways to spare little innocent animals like primates from the barbaric cruelty of maggoty animal dealers and from the talons of criminals. For many people it seemed folly to attempt to succeed in taking on a domain as tough as the international primate traffic. Nonetheless she succeeded, not alone, but with the participation and total cooperation of a large number of people sensitive to the primates’ cause.

The battle that Shirley leads today is not for herself alone but for the whole of humanity. This battle contributes to the preservation of the entirety of biodiversity. It is a battle for the whole of Africa, which seeks today to protect its natural resources pillaged by poaches and brigands.

I urge all IPPL members to redouble their efforts and be cautious of infiltrators. Let’s maintain a common front to block the highway bandits who try to trouble our minds by bad teachings.

Once again I thank Shirley for the services rendered, and I wish a long life to IPPL, which survives only through our participation and our contributions.

Long life to IPPL, and our friends the primates of the whole world. Together let’s support IPPL’s efforts.