After spending all or most of their lives in a cage with cement under their feet, four walls surrounding them and a ceiling over their heads we figured four or five of them might venture onto the island. But, without exception they all met the challenge and rushed through the open doors.
Sanctuaries: Restitution for a fortunate few
Tom Chimpanzee retired to Fauna Foundation after spending 30 years in laboratories. Photo: © Fauna Foundation
Read his story
Chimpanzees who have been imprisoned and experimented on for biomedical research deserve to live out the remainder of their lives with dignity and peace. Sadly, they can never be truly free again.
Captive chimpanzees cannot be reintroduced safely into the wild. Sanctuaries – where they live in large enclosures with free access to outdoor islands, enclosures or overhead tunnels – offer the only way to give these noble beings refuge and some semblance of freedom. Since chimpanzees in captivity can live for more than 50 years, there is the potential for years of safety and relative freedom for many who are now held in laboratories. For others, who have been in labs for decades, their precious time is running out….
Although thousands of chimpanzees have been used by research laboratories, only a lucky few have ended up in sanctuaries. As Project R&R works toward passing legislation to end all chimpanzee research, we need your help to provide them with permanent “retirement” into high-quality sanctuaries. A portion of Project R&R’s funds is awarded to select sanctuaries, continuing NEAVS’ tradition of supporting a new life for chimpanzees formerly used in research.
Sanctuaries/facilities housing chimpanzees in the U.S. and Canada
(excluding zoos and laboratories)
Free to be a chimpanzee, free from fear
 Chimpanzee walking on island sanctuary. Photo: © NEAVS |
For those lucky few who make it into sanctuary, their changes in health, well being, and behavior are profound. In this setting, chimpanzees at long last have some sense of free will. They enjoy the freedom to move about and to make choices about food, friends, and play. Most importantly, they are finally free from the constant worry – faced daily in the lab – that someone may come and do something that will hurt them yet again.
Some chimpanzees, like Jeannie, have been so traumatized by their years in research that recovery is taking years. While their progress is an inspiration to everyone who knows them, frequent setbacks can put them in full panic – so like human primates who have endured extreme trauma. Others, like Dana, enjoy their new lives immediately – embracing new friends and eagerly exploring their new world – free at last to be a chimpanzee.
True sanctuaries
Facilities considered by NEAVS/Project R&R to be true sanctuaries are those that:
- Are dedicated to educating the public and ending the use of apes in research, entertainment, or other exploitative industries
- Do not permit breeding to ensure that the cycle of captivity is not perpetuated into another generation
- Would never sell or trade chimpanzees for use in research or any other purpose
- Provide permanent retirement where daily life includes fresh fruit and vegetables, social interaction, access to outdoors and housing and care giving policies that are determined by the needs and best interests of the chimpanzees
Even at the best sanctuaries, once removed from the wild or bred in captivity, no chimpanzee can ever be truly free again. We can never give back what was taken from them: the right to be free and live autonomously. This reality makes the imperative to do right by them, even within the boundaries we have imposed on them, all the more urgent and mandatory.
Last revised: 06/21/06