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  • From: Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>
  • To: monkeywire AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [monkeywire] Zoos put chimps on birth control to keep breeds pure
  • Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2002 17:00:27 -0500

Asahi News Service
August 1, 2002 Thursday

ZOOS PUT CHIMPS ON BIRTH CONTROL TO KEEP BREEDS PURE


Zoos are putting chimpanzees on the pill to stop them from giving birth to mixed breed chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees are classified into four subspecies according to their habitats-East African, West African, Central African and Nigerian. They are not migratory animals and do not interbreed under natural circumstances. But until recently, Japanese zoos and research facilities have let their chimps breed randomly, unaware of what subspecies their chimpanzees belong to. When they tried to obtain chimps from their counterparts in Western nations, they were turned down for that reason. Western facilities began distinguishing chimpanzee subspecies about a decade ago and refuse to do business with zoos and research centers that do not follow suit.

To remedy the situation, a group of experts including Koichiro Yoshihara, a chimpanzee breeder at Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo and Kenichi Shinoda, an associate professor of physical anthropology at Saga Medical School, examined the DNA of chimpanzees at 56 facilities nationwide.

A total sample of 373 chimpanzees consisted of 243 West African, four Central African, 13 East African chimpanzees and 65 that were not clearly identified. The rest-48 chimpanzees-were crossbreeds, including some that were mixtures of three subspecies.
While some researchers say crossbreeding is not harmful unless the animals return to the wild, Yoshihara disagrees.

"We need to control the population of crossbreeds, and at the same time prevent incest from occurring. But that would reduce the chances of acceptable mating, which may cause the steadily increasing chimpanzee population in Japan to decline drastically," he said.

The experts recommended that each zoo counter crossbreeding by keeping only one subspecies and devising its breeding plan. Birth-control was recommended for crossbred chimps, as well as separate habitats for each subspecies to prevent interbreeding.
At Tama Zoological Garden, seven out of the zoo's 18 chimpanzees are mixed-breed. Nine are West African and two are Central African.

Kenta, an alpha male chimpanzee that came from another zoo, turned out to be a mix between Central and East African. He already underwent a vasectomy, according to a zoo official.

Four female chimps, including Peko, 40, and her daughter Koko, 17, have also been identified as crossbreeds, who are now on birth-control pills.

--
Carrie McLaren
Editor, Stay Free!
718.398.9324
www.stayfreemagazine.org
www.illegal-art.org



  • [monkeywire] Zoos put chimps on birth control to keep breeds pure, Carrie McLaren, 08/09/2002

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