Via Common Dreams, a new report by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) through the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) shows that over 22,000 great apes have been illegally stolen, traded, or killed since 2005. "Stolen Apes: The Illicit Trade in Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos and Orangutans,” is the first report to analyze the scale and scope of the issue, with traffiking linked to organized crime and trans-boundary networks moving animals with drugs, arms and laundered money. GRASP Coordinator Doug Cress states, "At this rate, apes will disappear very quickly. Great apes are extremely important for the health of forests in Africa and Asia, and even the loss of 10 or 20 at a time can have a deep impact on biodiversity." The report urges increased enforcement of protected areas; only 27 arrests were made in Africa and Asia between 2005 and 2011, and only 25% of those arrests were prosecuted.
A video here from the Great Apes Survival Partnership.
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