Fwd: Press Release: SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE OF THE DEADLY LINK BETWEEN PALM OIL AND ORANGUTANS

[Guest guest]

>Press Release

>Embargo: 00:01 Friday 14th October 2005

>SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE OF THE DEADLY LINK BETWEEN PALM

>OIL AND ORANGUTANS

>A pamphlet published today by the Borneo Orangutan

>Survival (BOS) Foundation UK and Nature Alert provides

>photographic evidence and witness accounts of the

>horrific abuse wild orangutans suffer when they enter

>palm-oil plantations in search of food ¡V including

>shocking images of animals that have been butchered,

>burnt or buried alive. Of those that have survived,

>many have been sold into the illegal pet trade and one

>young female was shaved and offered up as a

>prostitute.

>

>¡§In order to catch a wild adult orangutan and tie it

>down successfully, you would have to beat it

>unconscious first. Most orangutans caught by

>plantation workers die from concussion or internal

>bleeding.¡¨

>Lone Droscher Nielsen, Manager of Nyaru Menteng

>Orangutan Reintroduction Project.

>

>Wildlife rescue centres in Indonesia are over-flowing

>with displaced and injured wild orangutans, including

>orphaned infants, from areas where their forest

>habitat is being relentlessly cleared and converted

>into oil-palm plantations. One rescue centre, the

>Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project, houses

>more than 380 victims alone, with rescue teams

>operating on a daily basis. Meanwhile the centre is

>under immense pressure to find areas of forest where

>these orangutans can be released once they are healthy

>again. However, with the accelerating rate of forest

>clearance, these animals have a dwindling chance of

>ever being returned to the wild.

>

>Palm oil is found in one in ten products on UK

>supermarket shelves, including chocolate, crisps,

>margarine, cereals, lipstick and soap. The palm oil

>industry has been linked with large-scale forest

>destruction, massive forest fires and human rights

>abuses. However, palm oil could be produced in a

>non-destructive manner: millions of hectares of

>already degraded land are available for the

>establishment of oil-palm plantations. But forested

>areas continue to be cleared because of the quick

>profit that can be made from the timber. This practice

>places the palm oil industry as the greatest threat to

>the continued survival of the orangutan in the wild.

>

>¡§The rate of loss of orangutans has never been

>greater than in the last three years, and oil-palm

>plantations are mostly to blame. We are facing a

>silent massacre, taking place far from where people

>can see what is going on. ¡§

>Dr Willie Smits, Founder of the Borneo Orangutan

>Survival Foundation

>

>UK companies have been accused of failing to take

>effective action to ensure they do not buy palm oil

>from destructive sources. Recent research carried out

>by Friends of the Earth found that not one single UK

>supermarket was able to reveal where the palm oil

>originates in the products it sells.[1]

>

>Due to corporate reluctance to take responsibility for

>the impacts of their business, BOS is calling on the

>UK Government to give company directors a legal duty

>to minimise their environmental impacts through the

>Company Law Reform Bill, which will have its first

>reading in Parliament next month. They are also

>imploring the Indonesian and Malaysian governments to

>introduce and enforce legislation banning the

>conversion of forests for agriculture.

>

>The pamphlet and its accompanying website, also

>launched today (www.SafePalmOil.org), demonstrate to

>consumers how they can make a difference, and help

>save the orangutan from extinction. Actions include

>writing to the CEO¡¦s of the top five supermarket

>chains to demand non-destructive sourcing of palm oil,

>and contacting politicians to urge them to support the

>Company Law Reform Bill.

>

>¡§Consumers must demand a commitment from

>manufacturers and retailers to provide products which

>meet basic expectations so that we are not unwittingly

>contributing to forest destruction, species extinction

>and human rights abuses every time we visit the

>supermarket.¡¨

> Desilets, Director, Borneo Orangutan Survival

>Foundation UK

>

>Notes:

>„X New graphic images of orangutans and palm-oil

>development can be downloaded from

>http://www.SafePalmOil.org

>„X Broadcast quality footage of orangutans and

>oil-palm plantations, newly acquired from the field,

>is available from Nick Lyon & Evie @ Cockroach

>Productions, t: 01823 451 790,

> cockroachproductions@....

>„X Interviews with leading orangutan scientists and

>campaigners, including Dr Willie Smits and Ian

>Redmond, are available.

>

>[1] A report, ¡§The Oil for Ape Scandal ¡V How palm

>oil is threatening the orang-utan¡¨, is published by

>Friends of the Earth together with the Borneo

>Orangutan Survival Foundation. For a copy of the

>summary or full report please go to:

>www.palmoil.org.uk

>

>For further information please contact:

>

> Desilets, BOS UK Tel: 01296 640 542 Mobile:

>07910 230 196

>Email: bos_uk@...

>

>Helen Buckland, BOS UK Tel: 01732 460902 Mobile:

>07970 666 051

>Email: palmoil@...

>

>Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK Charity No:

>1099591

>

>

>

> Desilets

>Director

>BOS UK

>www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

>www.savetheorangutan.info

> " Primates Helping Primates "

>

>Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

>http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

>

>

>

>___________________________________________________________

>To help you stay safe and secure online, we've

>developed the all new Security Centre.

>http://uk.security.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for forwarding this. I usually hate one-liners of " thank you " but

this is too important to not respond to....

-Sharon, NH

Deut 11:14 He will put grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will

have plenty to eat.

>A pamphlet published today by the Borneo Orangutan

>Survival (BOS) Foundation UK and Nature Alert provides

>photographic evidence and witness accounts of the

>horrific abuse wild orangutans suffer when they enter

>palm-oil plantations in search of food ¡V including

>shocking images of animals that have been butchered,

>burnt or buried alive.

[Guest guest]

>

> Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 06:33:29 -0400

> From: Allan Balliett <igg@...>

>Subject: Fwd: Press Release: SHOCKING NEW EVIDENCE OF THE DEADLY

>LINK BETWEEN PALM OIL AND ORANGUTANS

OK, it sucks. But just what do you want us to do with this

information? If we just stop eating palm oil, we deprive ourselves of

good nutrition and don't make any real impact in the situation,

because our act hurts bad growers and good growers alike. If somebody

is selling " orangutan-safe " palm oil and we buy it, then we're

helping, but nobody is selling it. As for the UK government (or ours)

meddling in the process, they'd be better employed finding an

economic value in orangutans, so they wouldn't be regarded as pests.

--

Quick

www.en.com/users/jaquick

" Schußwaffen sind für Gewalt im gleichen Maße verantwortlich wie

Fliegen für Kuhmist. " (unbekannter Bauer)