Long before the HBO docuseries Chimp Crazy aired, I’ve been concerned about the view that humans have of chimpanzees and how they are portrayed in the media.
Since Chimp Crazy, those questions and concerns have amplified.
Andy Gray, Director of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance, and I have been hosting discussions via zoom about Chimp Crazy with the goal of talking about and processing the content of the documentary and its potential impact by having expert guests join us. You can watch recordings of these discussions on the sanctuary’s YouTube channel.
Our latest discussion included guests Debbie Metzler, Senior Director of Captive Animal Welfare at PETA Foundation (and former CSNW caregiver) and Kate Dylewsky, Assistant Director, Government Affairs at Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). Kate shared that she has been lobbying for animal issues with AWI for eleven years, and all of those years have included lobbying to pass the Captive Primate Safety Act, which was first introduced in 2007. This bill would make it illegal to possess, buy, or sell monkeys and apes as pets (current owners will be able to keep the primates they own but will be required to register their animals, and it will be illegal to breed them).
The good news is Kate said she’s never felt more hopeful that the Captive Primate Safety Act could pass, in part because of the success of the Big Cat Public Safety Act that was put into law at the end of 2022 and also due to the spotlight that the Chimp Crazy docuseries has shone on primate (particularly chimpanzee) ownership.
You can help by checking to see if your representatives are co-sponsoring the bill in the house of representatives and the senate. You can enter your address on this page to have personalized messages sent to your senators to encourage them to become co-sponsors if they are not already.
Federal law regarding the ownership of primates is long overdue, and if Chimp Crazy has a positive impact on this industry, potentially protecting tens of thousands of pet primates in the future, it’s well worth it.
I do still wonder, after people have watched Chimp Crazy, what is their view of chimpanzees?
The docuseries shows the two extremes that seem to remain in most people’s imaginations and delusions about chimpanzees; either they are viewed and treated as funny stand-ins for humans or even surrogate children, dressed up and laughed at, or they are vicious heartless beasts who will “eat your face off.”
We have written about this problem before, of course. On the one-year anniversary after a chimpanzee named Travis severely mauled a friend of the person who owned him, I shared this blog post, which linked to J.B.’s eloquent and still highly relevant blog post he wrote after the incident with Travis that resulted in his death.
Travis’ story, or rather the human-side of his story, is told in Chimp Crazy, with rather alarming details. Will that be what viewers remember the most? Is that okay, given that the story is factual and certainly an clear example of why chimpanzees never, ever, belong in people’s private homes?
I know, though we will never have the reach of an HBO documentary, we play a role in how chimpanzees are viewed. We post every single day on this blog and we share images and videos on social media.
While we try to place the chimpanzees and their stories into a broader context of what the sanctuary is about and what we believe – that chimpanzees do not belong in captivity – that context would be easy to miss if someone is casually scrolling or sees a single blog post.
Like today, I found Burrito with a yellow “cheese” Nylabone in his mouth and a purple scarf jauntily thrown over his shoulders.
Burrito was once a pet too. His story could have ended in tragedy.
I want to share these images and moments, because it shows Burrito being the delightful person he is, as misplaced as he is as an individual. But today I share them with all of these thoughts in the background.
I will wonder how many people will simply see a silly chimpanzee without knowing who he is or what he’s been through, and how he still needs people to help him continue to live a good life where he can be himself without misguided preconceptions on the part of the humans who have power over him.
One way that you can help Burrito and many other apes this week, giving towards organizations like ours that work to right the wrongs that humans have inflicted upon them, is to support Giving Day for Apes. This day of giving, organized by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, is both a fundraising opportunity and a friendly competition among the participating sanctuaries and rescue centers.
We are hoping to compete for the most dollars raised for a North American sanctuary during the “Power Hour” of 10 – 11 a.m. PT / 1 – 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday. I hope you’ll consider making a donation to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest at that time!
And I hope you’ll be a part of letting people know what you know – that chimpanzees are complicated and amazing. They are both violent and silly. They are extremely social and adaptable, adopting aspects of the cultures into which they are born, but they remain wild animals. They need us to understand and respect them for who they are so that we can help their wild populations thrive and end the need for keeping them in captivity.
