Logrono, Spain, Nov 23 (EFE).- Nearly 300 chimpanzees and monkeys housed in a care center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have become “invisible, silent victims” of a grinding conflict that is devastating communities and wildlife alike.
Itsaso Vélez del Burgo, director of the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center, told EFE that the war in South Kivu is endangering rescued primates already traumatized by poaching and violence.
Vélez del Burgo is a member of the Spanish NGO Coopera, which provides technical and financial support to the center, located near Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
Founded in 2002 after the Second Congo War, the center cares for about 130 chimpanzees and 140 monkeys seized from poachers by Congolese authorities. Many arrive orphaned or injured.
The facility also shelters around 43 African grey parrots, another species heavily targeted by wildlife traffickers. Staff hope to release them once security improves.
Some 60 local employees, supported by a veterinarian, maintain the 12-hectare complex, which includes large, electrified enclosures designed to prevent escapes. “They’re still wild animals,” she said.
As fighting continues, workers provide veterinary care, protect the animals and feed them with crops grown by local women, one of the few employment opportunities in the area. Coopera also runs humanitarian programs for communities affected by the conflict.
With an annual budget of roughly $35,000 from grants and private donors, the center aims to rehabilitate rescued primates for eventual release. But the director said reintroduction efforts have stalled due to high monitoring costs and the instability caused by the war.
Velez del Burgo, who is currently in Spain, said she fears for the safety of the Congolese staff.
“My heart sinks every time they tell me there’s gunfire or explosions,” she said. “I just want them to be safe, to have enough to live on, and to have the strength to keep coming to work and caring for these animals.”
She said that the primates grow anxious at the sound of gunfire, compounding their past trauma.
Vélez del Burgo said she hopes peace will return to a country already deeply affected by poverty. EFE
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