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AAP has been pleading for a positive list for companion animals for years. This is a list showing which animals are suitable to be kept as companions (pets). Animals not included in the list are automatically excluded as being suitable. In the Dutch Health and Welfare Law for Animals, this section has not yet been completed and so no list has yet been made. However; we also see some positive developments.
The positive list for mammals is now going to be included in the new Animal Law which is to replace the Health and Welfare Law for Animals. This causes yet another delay because the new Animal Law will only go into effect as of 1 January 2013 at the earliest. However, the system used for determining which animals should be on the positive list looks promising.
The Minister of EL&I has requested Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR) to develop a system with which a scientifically based positive list can be made. The WUR has since published 2 reports about this, and at the moment stakeholders, among them AAP, are being interviewed about this system. AAP has provided its vision on this subject and on the positive list which will be produced from it. Initially, Stichting AAP is positive about the system because much attention is being given to the welfare risks. AAP thinks that a positive list should be an integrated list that incorporates criteria such as species protection (CITES/biodiversity), animal deseases and public health, invasive species, personal safety and veterinary knowledge. The many raccoons, coatis, prairie dogs and exotic squirrels in the AAP rescue center are a result of the lack of a good positive list. The problems caused by keeping animals that are not suitable as pets are often dramatic for both the animals and the people who keep them.
Anja Hazekamp
Prevention officer
In its 40-year existence AAP has gained a lot of knowledge on the behaviour of chimpanzees. Thanks to this, we participated in a study* aiming to determine whether chimpanzees develop posttraumatic symptoms similar to those described in human mood and anxiety disorders.
In humans, traumatic experiences may be followed by psychiatric disorders, like post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In chimpanzees, studies now have demonstrated an association between traumatic events and the emergence of behavioral disturbances resembling PTSD and depression. Results of the study demonstrated that chimpanzees indeed do meet criteria for PTSD and depression. In captive chimpanzees studied, 58% display behavioural clusters similar to depression, compared to 3% of wild chimpanzees. In addition, 44% of captive chimpanzees display signs of PTSD, compared to 0.5% of wild chimpanzees. These results emphasize the importance of ethical considerations regarding the use of chimpanzees in experimentation and other captive settings.
Godelieve Kranendonk
Behavioral Biologist
* H.R. Ferdowsian, D.L. Durham, C. Kimwele, G. Kranendonk, E. Otali, T. Akugizibwe, J.B. Mulcahy, L. Ajarova, C.M. Johnson (2011). Signs of Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Chimpanzees. PLoS ONE 6(6), e19855
 For years now the population of wild Barbary Macaques is diminishing and their numbers have become critical. If nobody puts a stop to this, this species will disappear from its natural habitat completely. The main cause for the dropping numbers of Barbary Macaques is that the young animals are often taken by poachers and sold to tourists on local markets in North Africa. By educating tourists travelling to Morocco AAP is trying to stop this.
Spain is the most important transit port for illegal Barbary Macaque trafficking. Last year AAP organized a campaign at the Spanish-Moroccan border against the smuggling of Barbary Macaques. To get the Spanish people more involved in the matter this year we worked together with the Spanish animal welfare organization Depana and Barcelona Zoo. The Moroccan Primate Conservation Foundation (MPC) and the Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif (BMCRif) also fully support our campaign.
In July a large-scale educational campaign about the fate of the Barbary Macaque was organised in the Spanish port of Algeciras. More than ten thousand tourists travelling to Morocco received flyers and specially designed sun screens urging them not to buy Barbary Macaques. We also handed out a children's story, which was available in 3 languages. The response to our campaign was very positive, but it also showed that lack of knowlegde plays a huge role in the decision to buy a Barbary Macaque.
Gradually though, it seems Northern Africa is going through a mentality change. Locals seem to realize the importance of protecting the Barbary Macaque. Law enforcement on the other hand needs improvement. AAP keeps on helping the Barbary Macaques with a combination of shelter, publicity and lobby.
Eline Lauret
Policy Manager Europe
As from the beginning of this century AAP focuses on a detailed registration of the need of shelter. For many years the need of shelter exceeds the possibilities AAP is able to offer. The first thing that comes to mind in a situation like this is to build new facilities, but this also puts a large strain on our investment and exploitation budgets. A reason for us to investigate other solutions first.
First of all we put effort into an optimalisation of the internal process of intake-rehabilitation-outplacement: could it be possible to accomplish better flow through working more efficiently, better planning and a more realistic view on the world around us? This extensive project lead to a successful increase in rehabilitation results and thanks to this more space became available for new animals. We also tightened old collaborations and started new ones.
Despite our joined efforts the pressure to take in (especially) primates remained high. For this group of animals the quarantine capacity alone was a major bottleneck. After the European Balai-regulation (EU-92/65) was established this pressure became even stronger. AAP only has room for one third of the animals that are being registered yearly. Many primates remain on a waiting list for years. In May of this year there were, sad to say, 350 primates on this list and maybe even more as in many countries law enforcement is frustrated by the lack of proper shelters.
This for us is reason enough to take the solution of building new facilities back in consideration. AAP is planning to start building new resocialization facilities for primates by the end of this year. This will offer 50% more space than our existing building. Our quarantine capacity will be doubled. In June a large campaign was started to finance these important projects.
Eva Schippers
Manager Rescue & Rehabilitation
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