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The main reason behind using chimpanzees for research is their similarity to us. In fact, chimpanzees are genetically closer to humans than they are to gorillas or orangutans. If this is the case, don't they suffer as humans do? Humans have had a long history of subjecting groups that they deemed "sub-human" to invasive research. We now look back with shame to what our ancestors did to minorChinity groups. Hopefully, our children and grandchildren will look back with the same feeling of shame regarding what we are doing to chimpanzees. We have learned a great deal over the past few decades about chimpanzees and we should now use that information to oppose invasive research on chimpanzees.

With our knowledge of chimpanzees' intellectual and emotional capabilities, we should begin to acknowledge their right to life free of pain and suffering. These rights should also be recognized legally. To be clear, we are not talking about the right to vote or the right to choose an attorney. Some say that because chimpanzees have no social responsibility, they should not have rights. However, social responsibility is not a prerequisite to the fundamental right to life. Children and some mentally disabled people might not have social responsibility, but they do suffer. They may not have the right to vote, but they certainly have the right to life free of pain and suffering. The same should be true of chimpanzees.

Using non-human animals to test substances and learn about human disease is a long-standing tradition in medical research. Prescription drugs, for example, are not put on the shelf for people to buy without at some point being tested on non-human animals. They use rats, rabbits, and many other animals for these types of tests. Even though the non-human animals do not react the same way that humans react to a substance, we continue to use the animals because that is tradition, because animal testing is a huge industry that makes a lot of money, and because not enough time and money has gone into using alternatives to animal models.

Our position is that the gains from research on non-humans need to be weighed against the interest that a non-human being has in their own life, their interest in living a natural way with their own family members, and their interest in being free from severe pain.

We applaud the progress in medical science brought about through human clinical case studies, epidemiological studies, in vitro methods, and the use of computer models and synthetic tissue cultures as means to study disease and test products. Research that does not include vivisection on non-consenting, sentient beings is, in our view, more likely to promote the ethical goal of the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm.

What are your ethical beliefs regarding keeping chimpanzees in captivity for any purpose?

Chimpanzees are a highly intelligent and social species.  In the wild, they live in complex social groups in an environment that is constantly changing due to natural forces. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to replicate a chimpanzee’s natural habitat in a captive setting. Many captive chimpanzees develop stereotypic behaviors such as rocking, over grooming, and self-mutilation, which are believed to be due to a lack of environmental stimuli. Captivity of any kind can cause psychological harm to a chimpanzee and it is not an ethical practice.

Do you believe any organization has made particularly significant strides in rescuing and providing sanctuary to abused or neglected chimps? Why were they successful?

Several organizations in both North America and Africa provide excellent sanctuary for chimpanzees. The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) is a recently founded organization with the purpose of uniting primate sanctuaries in North America behind a series of common goals.  In order to become a member, a sanctuary must meet the criteria established by NAPSA.  The directors of Fauna Foundation, Save the Chimps, Chimp Sanctuary Northwest, Chimps Inc, Primate Rescue Center, Chimp Haven, and The Center for Great Apes all came together to form this alliance.  By founding NAPSA, these sanctuaries have all made great steps towards increasing the level of care that sanctuary chimpanzees receive.

Are there observable indicators of wellness in chimps at sanctuaries? 

There are a number of positive changes that can be seen when comparing a chimpanzee when he or she was living in a lab to when he or she has moved to a sanctuary.  Simply looking at the physical characteristics of individuals over time is a good indicator of improvement. Often individuals in sanctuary will have improvements in hair growth and weight gain, as well as a decreased number of wounds due to self-mutilation.

Psychological and emotional indicators can also be observed.  Since there is an increased availability of social interaction and enrichment in a sanctuary, there may also be an increase in frequency of play and grooming behaviors.

Is there a need to promote public awareness about the ethics of keeping chimpanzees in captivity?

Chimpanzees, along with many other captive species, are continuing to suffer both physically and emotionally because they cannot escape the situations that humans have placed them in. It is critical that sanctuaries and other organizations like them, educate the public so that the public can help to end the injustice that is occurring. 

Chimpanzees live between 40 to 60 years.

Free-living chimpanzees live and move through home ranges that vary in size from 10 to 24 square kilometers. In a day, a group of chimpanzees may travel as far as 10 kilometers. Vertical space is important too as a chimpanzee may climb or make his or her nest up to ten meters above the ground. Just like humans, chimpanzees require a complex environment that allows them to stay physically and psychologically fit.

Chimpanzees live in Western and Central equatorial Africa north of the Zaire River; ranging from Senegal to Tanzania. Within this territory, chimpanzees live in fairly isolated patches. There are three subspecies: Pan troglodytes verus, Pan troglodytes troglodytes and Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii being the West Africa, Central Africa and East Africa subspecies respectively.

It was estimated that at the turn of the century there were approximately one million chimpanzees in Africa. In 1991, that number shrunk to less than 200,000, and the current estimate is 125,000. Although free-living chimpanzees are endangered, logging companies and agriculture have wiped out the chimpanzees' habitat and new logging roads have made even the most remote areas of the forest accessible to anyone with a truck. This has opened up the forests for poaching, or hunting, chimpanzees.

Free-living chimpanzees are endangered mainly due to loss of habitat. New logging roads allow access to even the most remote parts of the jungle, leaving no safe haven for free-living chimpanzees. The bushmeat trade is a severe threat to chimpanzees as well as gorillas in Africa and orangutans in Indonesia. Often as a by-product of the bushmeat trade, young chimpanzees are still being illegally captured and sold to laboratories, circuses, zoos, and private owners around the world.

Chimpanzees can be found in entertainment, zoos, private ownership, and laboratories. Entertainment chimpanzees are dressed up and forced to perform tricks for the purpose of human amusement. Harsh training and physical punishment such as electric shock are common practice in the animal entertainment industry. Many chimpanzees live in zoos where they are put on display under the guise of education. Zoos often neglect to provide adequate enrichment because they want the chimpanzees to look like their wild counterparts. Even today, chimpanzees are still owned by people that think they would make cute "pets". Chimpanzees rarely last as pets because when they grow up they become too strong to control. Chimpanzees have also become the "furry test-tubes" of the human species. Chimpanzees are used in everything from vaccine testing to toxicology where they are often forced to live their lives alone in small cages.

Although the United States and Gabon are the only two countries to continue to perform biomedical research on chimpanzees, there are still many chimpanzees used in invasive research and in the pet trade and entertainment industry.  There are approximately 2,000 chimpanzees in the United States alone. About 1,700 are in research laboratories while the rest are in entertainment, zoos, and private ownership. About 470 chimpanzees have made it to sanctuaries within North America. To view a detailed summary of all the United States facilities that house chimpanzees and the locations of these facilities please visit http://www.chimpcare.org/map

In North America, there are only a handful of sanctuaries that are willing or able to retire laboratory chimpanzees. Most sanctuaries have reached their full capacity both in terms of space and funding. Therefore, there is a need for new facilities and more donations to existing sanctuaries. Chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa are also all at full capacity and are in need of help. We urge you to give them your support.

Many captive chimpanzees are the products of breeding colonies, maintained in U.S. laboratories. Most breeding colonies were set up to supply the research industry with test subjects. Other chimpanzees were captured in the wild when they were young. To capture a wild infant chimpanzee, its mother must be killed along with any other members of the group that are there to try to protect it. Many times a captured chimpanzee dies before it reaches its destination due to poor traveling conditions. It is estimated that for every chimpanzee that reaches its destination, as many as ten others are killed.

Yes, it is illegal to experiment on an endangered species. Wild chimpanzees are listed as an Endangered species. However, in a piece of convenient legal hypocrisy captive chimpanzees are listed only as Threatened. This is done to accommodate the demands of the biomedical industry, as it is perfectly legal to experiment on a threatened species. To date international efforts to erase this legal fiction, close this loophole that allows researchers to continue exploiting chimpanzees in research, have failed.

In North America, there are only a handful of sanctuaries that are willing or able to retire laboratory chimpanzees. Between these few sanctuaries, there are about 200 chimpanzees in retirement. Most sanctuaries have reached their full capacity both in terms of space and funding. Therefore, there is a need for new facilities and more donations to existing sanctuaries. Chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa are also all at full capacity and are in need of help. We urge you to give them your support.

Most laboratory chimpanzees, upon reaching a certain age, are deemed useless by the research community. They are no longer tested on, but remain warehoused in small, sterile cages for the remainder of their lives. They have been enslaved their entire lives by us and the only way we can begin to make up for their injustice is to release them to sanctuaries.

No! Chimpanzee babies are very appealing and many people believe it would be fun to have a chimp as a companion. Chimpanzee babies, however, grow up to be large, strong, and will-full adolescents. A full-grown chimpanzee is 5 to 8 times stronger than an adult human and can easily hurt a human even in play. "Pet" chimps almost always end up being put into cages, chained in garages, locked in sheds, or sold into biomedical research once they become too much for their owners to handle. Rachel, a chimpanzee who now lives at Fauna began her life as a pet and was sold into biomedical research when she was less than 3 years old.

Is there still a possibility that wild chimpanzees will be captured for research, pet trade or entertainment purposes? 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has listed the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) as an endangered species. While there are many international laws forbidding the wild capture and trade of chimpanzees, there is still illegal poaching activity occurring in many regions in Africa.

One of the primary threats to wild chimpanzees is from the bushmeat trade.  Bushmeat refers to the hunting and killing of threatened and endangered animals in tropical regions for their meat. Bushmeat is used as sustenance for local loggers and villagers, but it is also exported as a delicacy. This “delicacy” has been found in North America and across the globe.   A byproduct of hunting adult chimpanzees for bushmeat is that it often leaves orphaned young chimpanzees to be sold into the African pet trade.

Do you think chimps interact more or less with each other living in a controlled habitat such as zoo vs. in the wild?

While it is difficult to make a general statement across the species, it is our observation that there is a different social structure at Fauna than is present in free-living environments. At Fauna (and many other captive environments like it), the chimpanzees rely heavily on human caregiver interaction. Unlike in the wild, captive chimpanzees can groom and play with not only each other, but also their caregivers. Furthermore, captive chimpanzees are generally less active than free-living ones because of their confined living conditions. This, along with the difference in many captive individual's upbringing, would help account for the variations between free-living and captive chimpanzee behavior.

The chimpanzees at the Fauna Foundation will probably never fully recover from their years in research. However, each and every individual is showing a remarkable improvement. The chimpanzees possibly will never get sick and die from the disease testing they were subjected to. Chimpanzees infected with HIV do not show symptoms of AIDS. However, the chimpanzees at Fauna continue to suffer from the routine events and procedures they experienced in the lab.

No. Very few chimpanzees have been taught sign language, though they probably are all capable. The chimpanzees at the Fauna Foundation grew up either in the entertainment industry or in medical research. To learn more about chimpanzees and sign language, please visit the Chimpanzee and Human Communication's website at www.cwu.edu/~cwuchci/ .

There is no doubt that chimpanzees belong in their natural habitat in Africa. Unfortunately, there are several reasons why the Fauna Foundation chimpanzees cannot be moved to Africa. First, the Fauna chimpanzees grew up in North America away from their families and they did not have the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to survive in the wild. Second, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) generally prohibits the movement of chimpanzees, who are classified as an endangered species, to different nations. Third, chimpanzee habitats in Africa are being destroyed at alarming rates and wild chimpanzees are being hunted for food. Chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa are overcrowded and in need of assistance - they could not handle the additional burden. Finally, the Fauna Foundation chimpanzees were retired from biomedical research and were used in the testing of human vaccines. For this reason, they have special needs and require specialized, more expensive care to ensure the health and safety of the chimpanzees and the humans who work with them.

What is life like for a rescued chimp in a sanctuary? 

At Fauna, life for the chimps is based on freedom of choice.  Care staff work to give the chimpanzees as much control over their day-to-day activities as possible. This freedom of choice may mean they can choose which food they would like to eat off the food trolleys, or that they want to stay with their friend in a certain room for the day.  Since the chimpanzees can no longer live in the wild, it is a sanctuaries goal to make captivity as comfortable and as enriching as possible.

What measures are taken to rehabilitate abused chimps?

Like humans, chimpanzees have different personalities and different life histories. Therefore, rehabilitation depends on the individual chimpanzee. Apart from suffering the psychological strains that come with general captivity, many retired biomedical chimpanzees appear to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).   Symptoms of this disorder are generally far more severe than commonly observed captive behaviors. 

At Fauna, there have been a number of steps taken to rehabilitate the individuals suffering from painful life experiences. The simple act of removing the chimpanzees from the stressful environment and no longer subjecting them to constant invasive study has been a huge part of recovery.  Furthermore, the sanctuary is designed in a way that encourages calm and healthy behavior. The chimps have far more space now than they did in the laboratory that they came from, including access to an outdoor enclosure.  Social interaction is another critical part of rehabilitation. The chimpanzees at Fauna can choose to seek either privacy or companionship from other chimpanzees and caregivers. Caregivers can in turn work towards forming a unique bond that allows for further emotional rehabilitation.

Which chimp has been the most abused by humans, psychologically or physically?

While it is difficult to say who has suffered the most, several Fauna chimpanzees show physical and psychological signs of past abuse. Please visit http://www.faunafoundation.org/html/residents.html to learn about the histories of our current residents.

Do chimpanzees get AIDS?

While chimpanzees can be infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1), the same virus that infects and eventually develops into AIDS in humans, their immune systems vary from that of humans enough so that they do not normally develop full-blown AIDS. With HIV infection, humans become immunodeficient, which allows opportunistic infections to take their course in the body. In chimpanzees, no such immunodeficiency occurs. This difference makes them poor models for AIDS vaccination research.

To learn more about HIV studies in chimpanzees, visit http://www.releasechimps.org/research/contemporary/hiv-aids

Given enough time, many chimpanzees infected with HIV will shed the virus so that they no longer test positive. While there is still a potential risk working with infected chimpanzees, proper safety procedures are put in place at Fauna to minimize the chance of contact with any harmful disease agent.

Some research has indicated that free-living chimpanzees infected with Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) do develop an AIDS-like immune deficiency. SIV is a retrovirus that affects non-human primates, it is not the same as HIV.

Yes, the chimpanzee enclosure at the Fauna Foundation is safe. First, the chimpanzees live behind steel bars that are always inspected for wear. As an extra precaution, steel gates have been installed over all existing windows and doors outside of the chimpanzees' enclosure. A nine-foot electric fence has recently been erected outside of the building which acts as a third barrier to prevent the chimpanzees' escape.

The chimpanzees cannot leave the facility and because of this, they pose no health risk. HIV cannot be transmitted through water or air or through other animals such as rodents or birds. The Fauna Foundation has worked closely with the Sante Publique de la Monterigie to construct guidelines for working with infected chimpanzees. This has ensured that the volunteers and staff will be safe as well.

Absolutely not. Adult chimpanzees are approximately 5 to 8 times stronger than an adult human. In addition, they have denser bones and thick leathery skin. Because of this, even chimpanzee play could spell disaster for a human. The chimpanzees do live in social groups and therefore have physical contact with each other. If they do solicit human interaction, the humans are able to have safe contact through the steel mesh.

Dr. Richard Allen and Gloria Grow run the Fauna Foundation. The chimpanzee facility is staffed by Gloria, two employees, Gloria's family, and a small group of dedicated volunteers. The chimpanzee facility staff are involved in cleaning, preparing meals, providing enrichment and many other of the day to day tasks involved in caring for chimpanzees.

Every precaution is taken to ensure that visitors are in no danger. Visitors are able to see the chimpanzees when they are in their outdoor enclosure, from a safe distance. In addition, visitors are now able to view the chimpanzees from behind bullet-proof glass in our newly constructed observation area.

The Fauna Foundation is not a zoo and is not, therefore, open to the public.

However, we understand the value of the opportunity to learn first-hand about the realities of life for farm and laboratory animals in captivity, to see the sanctuary farm in operation, and in particular to discover what an incredible experience it is to meet chimpanzees in person and to learn about their histories as you look into their eyes. Therefore, we try to arrange educational private visits during the spring and summer months where people may tour the farm and meet the chimps at a safe distance from their outdoor caging.

Individuals and groups interested in taking advantage of this limited opportunity for a private tour must reserve in advance. For more information, please contact us.