There ’s more good news program coming out of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES ) hold in Johannesburg this hebdomad , and this time it ’s the Barbary macaque ' move around to get a well - earned reprieve .
CITES has voted unanimously to banish the international trade of these monkeys , which were formally list as endangered in 2008 and are often steal as infants and sold as deary throughout Morocco and Europe .
Barbary macaques are jolly unique . They are Europe ’s only wild non - human primate , with a universe of around 200 on the Rock of Gibraltar . They also have the dubioushonorof being the most seized , alive , credit - listed mammal in Europe .
They are also the only macaque species found in Africa , and the only primate found north of the Sahara , with an estimated6,500 to 9,000found in isolated populations across Algeria and Morocco . They were added to the imperil lean after a study revealed their population had declined by 50 percent in 24 years .
An estimated 200 babies are steal from the wild each twelvemonth , where , if they can avoid being sold into execution slavery for the tourer trade , they are sell as darling for around € 450 ( $ 500 ) in Morocco . In Europe , where there are an estimated 3,000 macaque being retain as favorite , they can fetch up to € 2,000 ( $ 2,240 ) .
It was actually Morocco , with support from the EU , who proposed the ban on switch these rascal at the group meeting , as they both fear for the dwindle populations in the state of nature . The proposal of marriage made it through , result in the macaques being add to the CITES Appendix I – the strict level potential – which means that all commercial trade of them is banned .
" The adoption of the joint proposal of marriage from the EU and Morocco would be a key next step in protect a coinage for which the EU is alas a key goal market , ” pronounce MEP Gerben Jan Gerbrandy , who is leading the European Parliament relegating at CITES , according tothe BBC . “ Now we have to ensure that any understanding is properly and coherently enforced to the fullest effect . That is where the real deviation will be made . "
It ’s the first meter in 30 yr that CITES considered raising the level of protection on a imp species . After this week’srejection of the proposalto restart the ivory trade and theban on all traffickingof pangolin , it come out the humanity ’s governments are serious about taking action against the rise in poaching and trafficking and the precarious decline of many endangered creature .
There are still six mean solar day leave of the wildlife summit meeting , and we ’re certain we ’re not alone in wait excitedly to see what other positive action mechanism is go to come out of it .
