Chimp Smuggling

The BBC exposes the illegal trade in baby chimpanzees, captured in Africa and exported to the Gulf or Asia as pets or for private zoos. Capturing a baby chimp means killing the parents and often other adult chimpanzees. The trade is starting to threaten chimp populations in the wild. Although they can be kept as pets as babies, adult chimps can be dangerous and so they are often killed once they are fully grown.

Reporter David Shukman infiltrates a smuggling ring based in Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. For a cash payment he receives CITES certificates which would allow an unscrupulous buyer to get round the ban on the export of the animals. With the help of Interpol and the Ivorian police, David helps bust a smuggling ring centred on the infamous "blue room" where captured baby chimps are held. And he discovers the scale of this illegal trade which crosses several continents.

(Photo: A captured baby chimpanzee is freed during the police raid of an illegal wildlife smuggling ring)