Sabre Travel Network, in conjunction with the Jane Goodall Institute, has launched a national competition encouraging Sabre staff and customers in Australia and New Zealand to donate their old mobile phones to help save Africa's dwindling primate populations.

CEO of Sabre Pacific, Gai Tyrrell, says the competition is just one of many ways in which Sabre is promoting environmentally responsible and sustainable practices both internally and amongst its customers.

"The mining of coltan - a metallic mineral used in mobile phones - in the Congo River Basin is causing Eastern gorillas to disappear at an alarmingly fast rate,” says Tyrrell.

"By recycling mobile phones, Sabre employees and our customers will help to reduce the international demand for coltan while raising money to support vital primate conservation work.”

"All interested parties need to do is register a team of between one to six people, collect as many phones as possible and send them in to us here at Sabre. The team that collects the most mobile phones by October 24 will win a fantastic behind-the-scenes experience at an Australian zoo of their choice," says Tyrrell.

The launch of the competition coincided with 'World Animal Day,' held on October 4.