"WSPA's eleven regional officers have been inundated with calls from concerned people who are appalled at the possibility that the perpetrator of the illegal shipment of orangutans may finally be punished by a monetary penalty which they feel would be a totally inappropriate result."
- John Welsh, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Boston USA
"We feel that any plea-bargain which does not include a substantial and meaningful punishment for Mr Block will be a cause of international embarrassment to the United States and will give aid and encouragement to the ruthless wildlife trackers who are destroying species that have taken millions of years to evolve and which once gone, will never come back."
- Craig Van Note, for Monitor Consortium and 16 conservation organisations, Washington DC, USA
"I was sent to Bangkok in February 1990 as primary care-giver for the 'Bangkok Six' orangutans. Block's lawyer argued that Block was 'on the other side of the world' and hence not responsible... This is ludicrous. The organisers of the world's smuggling syndicates, be it heroin, child prostitutes, ivory, birds or rhino horn, rarely operate in a hands-on manner or courier the merchandise personally. They arrange the deals, with the full knowledge that the merchandise must be hidden, and then sit back and collect the largest share of the profits."
- Dianne Taylor-Snow.
"The eyes of the world's conservation community are focused on this case and I would respectfully entreat the most decisive steps to ensure that Mr Block receives retribution which is appropriate to the callousness and severity of his crimes against wildlife."
- Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, President Bellerive Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
The International Primate Protection League, which in April 1993 entered into its third decade of service to our fellow-primates, concerned at the number of US nationals engaged in the international smuggling of wildlife is trying to bring about:
Severe punishments for wildlife criminals
Their ban, permanently from animal dealing
A ban, and/or restriction of their travel
Dr Shirley McGreal, Founder and chairwoman for 20 years of IPPL writes:
"We are hoping that individuals and organisations in countries around the world will challenge the United States' hypocrisy and claims of moral superiority. We let our wildlife criminals off lightly, and then allow them to continue their predatory careers. So far, except for IPPL's efforts there has been very little protest... We hope to expand our campaign to include petitions to other countries harbouring wildlife smugglers such as Germany and the Netherlands."
"Were these primates 'humans', we would classify these crimes as the murder of the parents in order to kidnap the children."
- Heather McGiffen, Washington DC, USA
The International Primate Protection League
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