African Green Parrot released to the wild. © LAGA
African Green Parrots being released from their dealer's crates to enclosure at Limbe Wildlife Centre. © LAGA
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation provided a grant of £30,000 in 2007/08 to be used to support the work of The Last Great Ape Organisation.
The Last Great Ape Organisation was founded in 2001 to tackle rampant illegal trade in wildlife in Cameroon – especially in live apes, ivory and big cat skins – which is a major conservation concern throughout the Central African region. It helped to bring the first ever successful prosecution under national wildlife law, and since then has assisted in more than 200 further cases. It remains the only NGO in the region dedicated to the enforcement of wildlife law. The team of less than 15 people undertakes a full range of activities towards this goal, including investigations into illegal wildlife dealers, assisting government operations to apprehend identified perpetrators, providing legal support to the prosecution process, and publicising the cases in national media. The organisation also maintains good relations at Departmental and Ministerial level as part of its constant efforts to combat corruption and influential opposition to its work.
Since the grant was received from The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation in September 2007 funds have been used primarily to finance the undercover investigations, which provide the information on illegal activities that is fundamental to the organisation’s activities. Many investigations may be required to bring one successful case, and consequently the average rate of investigations exceeds five every week. In February 2008 alone Rufford funds were used to enable 29 different investigations across Cameroon. The grant has also been used to provide legal fees for an experienced and dedicated barrister to prosecute cases which come to court, in order to ensure that criminals are not let off due to poor legal performance in court.