BIFA Awards
Kea and Ramon would travel. First, JCS had to bring the female orangutan, Kea, from Jersey, which has its own CITES permits and other requirements. “We had to have an export CITES permit issued by the Jersey authorities showing JCS as the importer in the UK so that we could bring Kea over by boat to join Ramon for the flight to Germany,” Knowles said. “We also had to apply for UK import and re-export licences for Kea, and the zoos in Germany had to list JCS (rather than Jersey Zoo) as the exporter. Additionally, representatives from the German zoos had to fly over to take faecal samples from both animals to satisfy the German import health requirements.” “Fortunately, JCS has longstanding relationships with the relevant authorities, which pulled out all the stops to facilitate the move. This comes from working with them for 37 years,” Knowles said. “A lot goes on to make these moves as seamless and stress- free as possible for the animals.” Transition stage Orangutans are highly intelligent, so Kea and Ramon needed plenty of interaction and stimulation as well as fresh fruit and water during their journey. Ramon’s keeper from Blackpool Zoo accompanied them, helping with the transition to quarantine and introducing the apes to their new keepers. The ‘freighter’ flight JCS booked was the last but one that BA intended to operate, although the carrier subsequently extended the service. This allowed JCS to bring another male orangutan from the Netherlands to Blackpool to replace Ramon. “It has worked out very well,” Knowles said. “Ramon had not been interested in mating with the females at Blackpool, but has mated with the ones in Germany, while the male we brought back over from Holland has mated with the females in Blackpool. “Both of the orangutans we flew to Germany have settled in extremely well, with Ramon gaining himself two new girlfriends and Kea meeting the man of her dreams. Young ones are due in the near future, so all parties are very happy.”
The female orangutan, Kea, travelled by boat from Jersey to the UK before flying to Germany with the male, Ramon
Helping to save the world’s orangutans
JCS Livestock, a division of James Cargo Services, won BIFA’s Cool & Special Cargoes Award 2022 in recognition of the successful move of two orangutans to Germany from Blackpool Zoo and Jersey Zoo
W ith fewer than 164,000 left in the wild, orangutans are critically endangered. Their natural habitats in Borneo and Sumatra are under threat from agriculture as well as growing urbanisation. With this in mind, Philip Knowles, JCS Livestock general manager, said: “We were thrilled to be asked to help with the relocation of two orangutans – named Ramon and Kea – from Blackpool Zoo and Jersey Zoo to Münster Zoo and Dortmund Zoo in Germany, to springboard their conservation efforts.” Considering the restrictions now in place following Brexit and the impact these have on CITES permits, plus Jersey’s status as an independent sovereign state, the move would be no mean feat.
“ Because of Brexit, all animals [excluding pets] travelling from the UK into the EU need to spend time in quarantine
Knowles explained: “Because of Brexit, all animals [excluding pets] travelling from the UK into the EU need to spend time in quarantine. The orangutans were to be held for six weeks at Frankfurt Zoo, which had the space to accommodate them. As quarantine only starts when all the animals have arrived, it made sense to move Kea and Ramon at the same time.” Air option Quarantine requirements in Germany meant that the great apes could not be transported by road through the EU. Air was the only option. With ports heavily congested, British Airways (BA) was operating Boeing 787s and A380s as freighters on a handful of its European routes, placing cargo in their bellies and passenger cabins. It was on one of these flights that
Cool & Special Cargoes Award
American Airlines Cargo provides one of the largest cargo networks in the world with cargo terminals and interline connections across the globe. Every day, American transports cargo between major cities in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia.
14 | August 2023
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