Join the next Ape Alliance event from anywhere in the world this Earth Day (April 22nd) at 6pm BST. Our annual panel discussion, usually hosted by Bristol University, is now online and accessible to all.

This year our expert panel will be discussing how zoonotic diseases, specifically the current outbreak of COVID-19, are related to or affect ape conservation.

Register your email on Eventbrite to receive the link and password to the Zoom conference.

We will send clear instructions to everyone who has registered on how to access the discussion on the day of the event. You will not need a Zoom account to watch.

Check out the speakers and their bios below, and think of any questions you might want to ask them. Feel free to send in your questions via social media or email before the event!

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka was Uganda’s first wildlife veterinary officer and the subject of the BBC documentary Gladys the African Vet. Gladys has been instrumental in leading the conservation of the mountain gorillas of East Africa, and founded Conservation Through Public Health, an NGO that seeks to enable the coexistence of wildlife and people by improving people's heath and quality of life in and surrounding protected areas.

Professor Vernon Reynolds is a pioneer in chimpanzee field research and used his expertise to start Budongo Conservation Field Station in 1990. Since then, he has written two books on the chimpanzees who live there: ‘Budongo: a forest and its chimpanzees’ and ‘The Chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest’. He is currently an Emeritus Fellow at the University of Oxford and continues to visit Bundongo each year.

Dr Johannes Refisch is an animal ecologist and was awarded a Research Conservation Award for his PhD work. He currently leads the secretariat for the UN Great Apes Survival Civil Partnership (GRASP), and is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Primate Specialist Group.

Dr Jo Thompson is the President/ Executive Director of Lukuru Foundation, which supports the research of Great Apes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has worked tirelessly in Bonobo conservation, including impressive work in the national parks following the declaration of war in the Republic of Congo in 1998.

Dr Jimmy Desmond is a wildlife veterinarian with extensive experience with chimpanzees founded Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection in West Africa, with his wife Jenny. Jimmy and Jenny's work running LCRP was featured on the recent BBC documentary 'Baby Chimp Rescue'. Specialising in infectious diseases and the illegal wildlife trade, Jimmy consults a number of organisations, including EcoHealth Alliance and The Jane Goodall Institute.

Ian Redmond OBE is the chairman of Ape Alliance. He is renowned for his work surrounding the research, conservation, filming and ecotourism of apes and elephants. He has led anti-poacher patrols, guided film crews and/or special interest tours and worked to support local conservationists during the horrors of Rwanda’s and D.R. Congo’s civil wars. He also works with the UN, previously as GRASP Envoy and Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla 2009, currently as an Ambassador for the Convention on Migratory Species.

Ape Alliance

c/o the RSPCA Building

30 Lansdown

Stroud, GL5 1BG

United Kingdom

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