Save Slow Loris
Sep. 2nd, 2010 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
askygoneonfireMost people have probably heard of/seen the Slow Loris thanks to a rash of YouTube videos. What you may not know is the terribly sad story behind these beautiful creatures.
Their natural habit is being rapidly destroyed and two of the nine species (I have been unable as yet to determine the official number of Slow Loris species, some sources say 3, some 5 and other 9. The IUCN lists only 5 species and only records one of those as being 'endangered') of Slow Loris are classified as endangered. Their natural instinct to stay completely still when threatened means they are ridiculously easy to capture and keep as pets - and, as is apparently fashionable, carry them around in a handbag. As is often the case in these situations, their survival instinct is the thing that is killing them.
They have incredibly sensitive hands and feet, they are transported in wire cages which, as a result of their unique blood vessel network, cut into their hands and feet causing them untold pain and suffering. Before being sold and transported further the traders take pliers to the mouths of the Slow Loris and pull out their sharp teeth as they have a toxic component in their saliva which can cause anaphylactic shock. This is done without any sort of anaesthetic and often, coupled with their being captured from the wild and transported in a tiny cage, causes the Slow Loris to go into shock and die. There is a 30-90% mortality rate in the transport of Slow Loris.
Finally, there is very little known about the Slow Loris - even things as basic as diet are unknown meaning that those Slow Loris who survive often die in capitivity from poor diet. This also means that breeding them in captivity is almost impossible, so those Slow Loris owners who claim their pets came from a captive breeder are either lying, or have been lied to. In short, there are no positive aspects in the Slow Loris trade. The small amount of information available about the Slow Loris also means that it doesn't actually have a reliable conservation status (see: Data Deficient) which undoubtedly complicates any conservation drives; the detail of this is included in the content for each of the 5 species listed on the IUCN Red List.
Information on the Slow Loris is difficult to come across and often contradictory, and it requires some pretty specific searching to discover the legal status of pet trade and the reasons why so many people on youtube not just own a Slow Loris, but flaunt it on YouTube. I only found out about CITES (see below) after emailing WSPA, and I only emailed WSPA because I'd been looking around on the internet for a couple of evenings trying to find international organisations who were working for the conservation of Slow Loris without any luck.
In 2007, at the request of Cambodia, CITES changed the Slow Lorises classification from Appendix II to Appendix I meaning that all trade in that animal was banned. The loophole, if you can call it that, is that the Slow Loris is native to South East Asia, and as you will all probably know, animal welfare and local and international laws pertaining to animal trade are roundly ignored in that area.
Organisations such as TRAFFIC seem to be doing a good job with limited resources but it really shocks me that such a cute animal is being widely championed by well known, BIG conservation organisations.
There are a couple of very good articles I have come across in my couple of weeks of digging around.
Too cute for comfort: This BBC article gives a pithy overview of the facts although it is now a little out of date.
YouTube videos may be imperiling cuddly primate: This is a comprehensive article examining various issues threatening the Slow Loris and the complex case of actually managing to make legislation mean something.
The loris: Another primate at risk from traditional Asian medicine: This recent article uses a recently published study to examine what is possibly a bigger issue than the pet trade in Slow Lorises, their use in traditional 'medicine'. People who are going to gut these animals to use in potions are unlikely to care about 90% mortality rate of transporting these creatures.
I'm continuing to research this stuff in the hope of finding some sort of organisation I can support. In the meantime, awareness is always good, which is why you're seeing this post.
Their natural habit is being rapidly destroyed and two of the nine species (I have been unable as yet to determine the official number of Slow Loris species, some sources say 3, some 5 and other 9. The IUCN lists only 5 species and only records one of those as being 'endangered') of Slow Loris are classified as endangered. Their natural instinct to stay completely still when threatened means they are ridiculously easy to capture and keep as pets - and, as is apparently fashionable, carry them around in a handbag. As is often the case in these situations, their survival instinct is the thing that is killing them.
They have incredibly sensitive hands and feet, they are transported in wire cages which, as a result of their unique blood vessel network, cut into their hands and feet causing them untold pain and suffering. Before being sold and transported further the traders take pliers to the mouths of the Slow Loris and pull out their sharp teeth as they have a toxic component in their saliva which can cause anaphylactic shock. This is done without any sort of anaesthetic and often, coupled with their being captured from the wild and transported in a tiny cage, causes the Slow Loris to go into shock and die. There is a 30-90% mortality rate in the transport of Slow Loris.
Finally, there is very little known about the Slow Loris - even things as basic as diet are unknown meaning that those Slow Loris who survive often die in capitivity from poor diet. This also means that breeding them in captivity is almost impossible, so those Slow Loris owners who claim their pets came from a captive breeder are either lying, or have been lied to. In short, there are no positive aspects in the Slow Loris trade. The small amount of information available about the Slow Loris also means that it doesn't actually have a reliable conservation status (see: Data Deficient) which undoubtedly complicates any conservation drives; the detail of this is included in the content for each of the 5 species listed on the IUCN Red List.
Information on the Slow Loris is difficult to come across and often contradictory, and it requires some pretty specific searching to discover the legal status of pet trade and the reasons why so many people on youtube not just own a Slow Loris, but flaunt it on YouTube. I only found out about CITES (see below) after emailing WSPA, and I only emailed WSPA because I'd been looking around on the internet for a couple of evenings trying to find international organisations who were working for the conservation of Slow Loris without any luck.
In 2007, at the request of Cambodia, CITES changed the Slow Lorises classification from Appendix II to Appendix I meaning that all trade in that animal was banned. The loophole, if you can call it that, is that the Slow Loris is native to South East Asia, and as you will all probably know, animal welfare and local and international laws pertaining to animal trade are roundly ignored in that area.
Organisations such as TRAFFIC seem to be doing a good job with limited resources but it really shocks me that such a cute animal is being widely championed by well known, BIG conservation organisations.
There are a couple of very good articles I have come across in my couple of weeks of digging around.
Too cute for comfort: This BBC article gives a pithy overview of the facts although it is now a little out of date.
YouTube videos may be imperiling cuddly primate: This is a comprehensive article examining various issues threatening the Slow Loris and the complex case of actually managing to make legislation mean something.
The loris: Another primate at risk from traditional Asian medicine: This recent article uses a recently published study to examine what is possibly a bigger issue than the pet trade in Slow Lorises, their use in traditional 'medicine'. People who are going to gut these animals to use in potions are unlikely to care about 90% mortality rate of transporting these creatures.
I'm continuing to research this stuff in the hope of finding some sort of organisation I can support. In the meantime, awareness is always good, which is why you're seeing this post.
