Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Take Action Tuesday: GAPCSA Progress

by Debbie

As you may have heard last week, thanks to all the public support for the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee favorably approved the bill (S. 810). This is a huge step forward, but we aren’t done yet! Though GAPCSA has been approved by the committee, it has not passed in the Senate—yet. With your support, we can move even farther ahead in helping release chimpanzees from invasive biomedical research. Visit Project Release & Restitution’s website to find details on how to keep the ball rolling.

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  3. Sara Lissabet, Fairfax says

    Are there enough sanctuaries to take all the rest of the chimps in research? I know this is a much bigger question than can be answered in an e-mail, but who starts or creates these sanctuaries and what kind of space considerations should an effective sanctuary have?

    • Debbie says

      The simple answer is – the government has acknowledged their responsibility for funding the cost of care for federally-owned chimpanzees, and this is written into the bill.

      An effective sanctuary should of course revolve around the quality lifetime care for its residents. In regards to space considerations, captivity can never make up for what chimpanzees in the wild would experience, since they travel up to 6 kilometers a day! However, sanctuaries try their best to provide a space where the chimps can be chimps—that is, they can exhibit the behaviors they would normally exhibit in the wild. For instance, they need places to climb, swing, and run. Chimpanzees spend their day on the ground foraging, but they sleep and build nests in the trees, so they need places that are higher up like benches or platforms. And besides space, they need enrichment to keep their minds engaged, and nesting materials (for captive chimpanzees, blankets are perfect material!)

      • Sara Lissabet, Fairfax says

        Thanks for your reply Debbie! I’m sure running and funding a sanctuary is a daunting responsibility but I’m glad to know the government has put their responsibility for funding into the bill.