Primate Trade (PRIMATE)

          CASE NUMBER:         120   
          CASE MNEMONIC:      PRIMATE
          CASE NAME:          Primate Trade

A.        IDENTIFICATION 
1.        The Issue 
     The international trade of primates, including various
monkeys, chimpanzees, and orangutans is accelerating the decline of
these animals to the point of near extinction.  While other factors
contribute, such as the destruction of their habitat by increasing
populations of humans and the hunting of adults for food, poaching
for trade has an enormous impact.  Interpol, the international
police agency, agrees that illegal wildlife trade is second only to
drugs as a worldwide black market.  This case focuses on the trade
of primates between the largest exporters, Indonesia and the
Philippines, and the largest importer, the United States.  As it
stands, there appears to be no solution on the horizon on
eliminating the illegal trade.  Primates are humans closest
relatives on this planet.  People have gained knowledge about
evolution and health through these animals and we have befriended
them unlike any other species.
2.        Description
     The Convention on Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
prohibits all trade of primates except those born in captivity. 
Since demand continues, smugglers have simply found more and more
creative ways of illegally transporting the animals.  Demand stems
from zoos, circuses, laboratories, and people who want them as
pets.
     The primate trade is flourishing between the United States and
the Philippines and Indonesia.  Various groups have attempted to
detect illegal smuggling and pressure customs officials and game
wardens into enforcing rules.  For example, TRAFFIC was founded in
1976 by the World Conservation Union to monitor the international
trade in wildlife.  The British Union for the Abolition of
Vivisection (BUAV) puts pressure on countries exporting wild-caught
primates for research purposes.  It singled out Indonesia, the
Philippines, and the island of Mauritius, all of which were visited
by BUAV activists in the course of a year-long investigation.  All
were accused of exporting wild-caught primates and the BUAV claimed
that many of the captive breeding programs it had seen were just a
front for extensive trapping in the country concerned.  The BUAV
has had some success, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and
Malaysia, where export bans have been instituted.
     The Jane Goodall Institute maintains three chimpanzee
sanctuaries in Africa to save the young chimps confiscated by game
wardens and those whose mothers have been killed.  The goal is to
introduce them back to nature successfully.  This proves extremely
difficult and so these sanctuaries have turned to maintaining a
healthy and growing population of chimps.  These approaches have
proved insufficient in stemming the primate trade.  
     U.S. demand for primates continues unabated.  Between 80 and
90 percent of the primates are imported by three major centers --
Worldwide Primates in Miami, Charles River Primates in Port
Washington, New York, and Hazelton Research Products in Reston,
Virginia.  Thus, most of the demand is actually for research
primates.  While many of the primates that reach these centers may
not be illegally captured, these institutions are not above 
suspicion.  In 1989, six orangutans were discovered in Bangkok
packed in a crate so tight they could not move.  The International
Primate Protection League claimed that these orangutans were in
fact headed for Worldwide Primates in Miami.  However, in the
Philippines, the government has adopted strict controls over the
wild trapping of primates.  They regulate how many primates should
be taken and from which areas.  They are committed to reducing the
quota for the trapping of feral monkeys be 25 percent each year
while its captive breeding program is expanded to meet demand. 
The problem is really how can anyone force the governments in
question to make the issue a political priority.
3.        Related Cases
     Keyword Clusters         
     (1): Trade Product            = PRIMate
     (2): Exporter                 = PHILippines
     (3): Environmental Problem    = Species Loss Land [SPLL]
4.        Draft Author: Kathleen Uribe
B.        Legal Cluster
5.        Discourse and Status: AGReement and COMPlete
6.        Forum and Scope: CITES and MULTI
     The forum is the national legislatures and governments of the
U.S. and the Philippines and Indonesia.  The scope is multi-
national since CITES regulates the trade in international primates,
but bi-lateral if there was to be an agreement between the U.S. and
the Philippines or Indonesia.  
7.        Decision Breadth: 118
     In the specific case of the largest importer and exporters,
there are three countries involved: the United States, the
Philippines, and Indonesia.  The number of countries involved in
the CITES agreement is 118 countries, as of now. 
8.        Legal Standing: TREATY
     The CITES Treaty would represent the legal standing of the
case.  Some countries have issued national laws banning exports,
but not the Philippines or Indonesia.  
C.        Geographic Clusters
9.        Geographic Locations
     a.   Geographic Domain   : ASIA
     b.   Geographic Site     : East Asia [EASIA]
     c.   Geographic Impact   : PHILippines 
10.       Sub-national factors: NO
11.       Type of Habitat: TROPical
D.        Trade Filters
12.       Type of Measure: Import Ban [IMBAN]
     Import and export bans for countries in CITES, and strict
import standards (quarantines, certification) in the U.S. in cases
like the Ebola scare among monkeys in 1990.  Here the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) closed down the three big research
centers and restricted entry through New York City.  Since the
Philippines and Indonesia do not have quarantine or testing
facilities, the New York restrictions effectively served as a ban. 
The CDC even threatened to impose a nationwide ban on primate
imports, but never went so far.  Restrictions have since been
lifted.  
13.       Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: DIRect
     There is a direct ban on the trade of primates born in the
wild.
14.       Relation of Measure to Environmental Impact:
15.       Trade Product Identification: PRIMmates
     Primates here include mostly monkeys, chimps, orangutans, and
apes.
16.       Economic data 
     Most of the data available is on the price of primates. 
Authorities seized a man in June, 1992 who had paid $1,000 for a
gorilla and $500 for a chimpanzee.  In 1990, the wholesale price
of a pair of young orangutans was $15,000.  In 1989, the value
of chimps to biomedical research was about $25,000 (mainly due to
the Ebola scare).  Estimates of the number of wild chimps in 1989
was 175,000, and there were around 1,300 at that time in U.S.
research facilities.  Orangutans left in the wild are estimated
to be between 20,000 and 50,000.  About 21,000 primates are
imported annually into the U.S. despite the substantial breeding
capacity of federally-funded research centers.         
17.       Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness: MEDium
     The import/export ban of CITES on wild-caught primates is a
defensive mechanism and the impact is a ban.  However, primates
raised in captivity may be traded.
18.       Industry Sector: ENTERtainment
     Given their value to zoos and circuses this case falls under
the entertainment sector in the services industry ( See PANDA Case).
19.       Exporters and Importers
     The five largest importers and exporters of primates are shown
in Table 120-1.  The Philippines and Indonesia are by far the
largest exporters, but surprisingly the United States is third
largest, mostly animals born in captivity.  Guyana and Kenya are
large exporters and also large trans-shipment sites in South
America and North America.  The United States is the largest
importer and is about four times larger than the second largest
importer, the United Kingdom.  The former USSR and the Netherlands
are also large importers.
                           Table 120-1
             Leading Primate Exporters and Importers
                      (number of primates)
Leading Exporter    Total          Leading Importer    Total
Philippines         12,502         United States       21,657
Indonesia           10,569         United Kingdom      5,811
United States       5,725          Japan               4,795
Guyana              5,305          Former USSR         2,953
Kenya               5,074          The Netherlands     2,786

E.        ENVIRONMENTAL Clusters
20.       Environmental Problem Type: SPLL
21.       Name, Type, and Diversity of Species 
          Name:          Primate
          Type:          Animal/Mammal/Primate
          Diversity:     515 mammals per 10,000 km/sq (Indonesia)
     There are probably at least a dozen different species of
monkeys, apes and chimps affected by the international primate
trade including, specifically, the Gorilla gorilla graueri and the
Pan troglodytes.
22.       Resource Impact and Effect: MEDium and PRODuct
     This case represents source or resource depletion problems,
specifically species loss.  The impact is probably high and the
effect is negative product and regulatory effect in terms of the
CITES conventions and other treaties.  Perhaps there are also
structural effects since these primates stand the best chance for
survival in their own natural habitat.  The impact in the U.S. of
course is that we all get to see more primates in zoos and our
researchers get to have an unlimited supply of primates to do
research on.
23.       Urgency and Lifetime: HIGH and about 25 years
     Urgency is rather high since these primates are in Appendix I
of CITES and most are classified as endangered rather than
threatened.  No estimates of years until extinction were given
except for the orangutan, which was estimated as "soon after the
turn of the century."  In addition, humans have a strong
connection to these animals not just because they are cute and
furry, but because they are so similar to ourselves.
24.       Substitutes: NO
     There is no substitute for primates, conservation efforts are
the only possibility.  You can do research on rats but it's not as
accurate as on monkeys.  You certainly can not use substitutes in
zoos or circuses, or as pets.
F.        OTHER Factors 
25.       Culture: YES
     Western cultures may particularly covet primates since they
are not indigenous to our part of the world.  The Hollywood culture
popularized orangutans through two movies with Clint Eastwood and
an orangutan named Clyde and King Kong is known to millions of
people. It obviously makes for quite a conversation piece simply
because they are so exotic and not many people have access to
primates.  Likewise, zoos are a major cultural event.  Every parent
takes their kid to the zoo, and the same goes for the circus.  We
are used to having these animals as part of our entertainment.  In
addition, we love big mahogany desks and other furniture which adds
to the habitat destruction of primates in South-East Asia.
26.       Rights: YES
     Many contend that these closest relatives of humans are often
treated inhumanely and that other animals in research can be used
for acceptable results.
27.       Trans-Boundary Issue: NO
28.  Relevant Literature
Anderson, Christopher.  "Primate imports confusion."  Nature
     351/6327, June 13, 1991.
Anderson, Christopher.  "US Shuts Down Monkey Trade."  Nature
     344/6265.  March 29, 1990.
Bequette, France.  "Nature Under Threat."  UNESCO Courier 5.
     May 1993.
Dayton, Leigh.  "A Lizard in the Bush..."  New Scientist
     141/1910.  January 29, 1994. 
Kanamine, Linda.  "Animal Trade Meeting Could be a Cat Fight."
     USA Today.  November 14, 1994.
"Monkey Business."  The Economist 316.  September 1, 1990.
Morell, Virginia.  "Orphan Chimps Won't Go Back To Nature."
     Science 265/5170, July 15, 1994.
Mundell, Ian.  "Ban on Primate Trade Seen as Threat to Animals."
     Nature 358/6381, July 2, 1992.
"To Save The Wild Chimps."  Science News 135/10.  March 11, 1989.
Vanderknyff, Rick.  "Losing Ground..."  Los Angeles Times.  March
     5, 1994.