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FREETOWN - Sierra Leone outlawed the capture and killing of chimpanzees yesterday, declaring a one-month amnesty for anyone keeping a chimp to hand it over to authorities.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Marine Resources said anyone violating the new regulations would face a fine of up to NZ$1260 or jail. "It is now illegal by law to possess, capture, kill or keep chimpanzees," said the statement. "To provide the public sufficient time to surrender chimps in their possession a month's notice is hereby given for chimps to be handed over to the authorities."
The Government has established a refuge at Freetown to take in chimps from the public. Ecologists say Sierra Leone's wild chimpanzee population has declined dramatically from 20,000 in the 1970s.
- REUTERS
