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.
Eloquently, beautifully stated, Diana. Giving Day Power Hour is on my calendar. Thank you for what you all do for these wonderful chimpanzee friends at CSNW!
I know you prefer not to show the more violent squabbles among the chimps(nobody wants to air their dirty laundry in public) but I wonder if people saw that side as well it may bring home the reality that they are not pets. They are incredibly complex individuals that have many sides to their personalities. Just a thought…
They have, a few times. Jamie displays were featured in the “do primates make good pets?” PSA, and there was another one that involved a to-do at lunch time because Jamie swiped Missy’s chow and Annie defended Missy. b
But as they said in that one, they don’t often think to run and grab the camera, because they’re just trying to determine how serious it is and if they are going to need to break it up. There was one a while back on the security camera in the new house that showed a conflict.
This is such a complex subject that I’m going to struggle to be succinct. I am an ‘amateur primatologist’ in that the great apes, their conservation in the wild and their care in captivity has become a passion project for me. Through the years I’ve been learning and studying, my feelings about chimpanzees have run the gamut, from active dislike to respectful appreciation. Of all the great apes, chimps seem to be the most like humans, which I think is both to their benefit and downfall. “Chimp Crazy” showed in graphic detail what many people already knew: Primates, especially the great apes, are not suitable as pets. Period. And once this election cycle completes, I will absolutely be contacting my Senators and Representatives once again about co-sponsoring the Captive Primate Safety Act.
I’m hoping it will be a slam dunk after the big cat bill passed into law, but we shall see.
Still, I can’t help but find chimps to be my least favorite apes. They wage war; the documentation of the Gombe chimpanzee war is horrifying. They maintain a strict social ranking system which is enforced through fear, intimidation and often physical violence. They are intelligent enough to collude and murder leaders they don’t like. As I said, very much like people, sadly.
In my attempts to give chimps a fair shake (inspired by your videos posted on YouTube) I’ve started reading Frans de Waal’s books about chimpanzees. They are intelligent and enough like humans to be a fascinating study, and I am learning more and more about them. But the fact remains: They are too dangerous to be allowed to be privately owned, and too social and intelligent for that as well.
I am very glad that there are sanctuaries such as yours for chimpanzees where their needs are considered and met as fully as possible, especially in the unconscionable cases where they have been used for medical testing. We will have to agree to disagree about well run zoos, I think, as I feel it’s crucial for people to be able to have the experience of seeing animals up close to foster a sense of being responsible for what happens to animals in the wild. Zoos also give us an ark of sorts, to help declining species not disappear completely.
But I don’t want to get off on the tangent of zoos. What I do think is that chimps need a social group of their peers, even if they are low rankers in that group. They require a great deal of physical exercise and mental stimulation, which you provide so well with all your wonderful caregivers doing their best to keep things lively and interesting for your residents. I do enjoy watching silly boy Burrito playing, Jamie with her boot fascination, and Foxie and her troll dolls…they demonstrate the intelligence and curiosity chimps are famous for.
Most importantly, they demonstrate very clearly that primates have rich emotional lives. They experience love, connectedness, happiness and joy. They can also become angry, irritated, and depressed, all of which they work out in their own way. They are so much like humans in both wonderful and unpleasant ways, yet it is our responsibility to try to ensure that if they must be in captivity it is an appropriate situation, and never, ever as ‘pets’ in a concrete, sunless cell. I do feel your sanctuary does a wonderful job of providing them the best possible life for them, in a way that respects their volatility and strength and emotional needs.
Thank you for all you do.
I echo Mo in my sentiments. Well said, Diana. Count on me for Power Hour. It’s on my calendar. I’m so grateful for all you do for the chimpanzees at CSNW.
Beautifully stated,Diana, and although the “Chimp Crazy”docoseries has in some ways opened a hornet’s nest of misconception regarding chimpanzees, first and foremost, CSNW is a loving sanctuary. Anyone viewing your website, the chimps’ biographies and daily blog will surely realise that you love and nurture your chimpanzees.
Yes, sure the chimps will sometimes wear scarves (of their own free will) and goof about but that is part of their individual personalities which, considering their horrendous past, simply shine through. All I can say is keep on doing what you are doing. Your sanctuary is a haven and anyone worth their salt will know it.p.s I jumped in last week and made a donation for GDFA.
Diana, I can completely understand your dilemmas about the series and about how to present chimpanzee behaviour to the viewers. As for Chimp Crazy, the sensationalized representation of chimp violence and the crew’s deceptive and condescending attitude towards T.Haddix can be labelled as questionable, of course, but right now I’m a bit fed up with all the squeamish rewiews – latest one in The Guardian – in which Eric Goode is constantly condemned for his immoral movie-making methods. Personally, I wouldn’t choose Goode as my best buddy, but that guy did the dirty job – and even if we can’t know for sure whether his thirst for (another) success was a bigger drive or his genuine concerns for the animals, the impact of his work is undeniable. If one day Captive Primate Safety Act – hopefully – comes into force, that great achievement should be – partly, at least – attributed to the highly controversial docu-series.
The other issue is even more complicated, either we’re talking about Chimp Crazy or your choice whether to share the less pleasant side of chimpanzee behaviour with the followers of the sanctuary. Human mind is wired in a particular way, we can’t really process contradictory information (and this often leads to cognitive dissonance or other cognitive distortions) – that’s why we all feel inner tension and uneasiness when we are shown the inevitable aggression of our beloved animals. Others, who didn’t have previous knowledge or any particular emotional attitude to great apes, can easily embrace the idea that „chimps will rip your face off” – not because they’re superficial people, but that’s how our mind works, we’re ready to jump on quick conclusions/judgements if the information is scarse. Digesting and accepting that our lovely and cute chimp cousins are able to commit gory attacks on humans and on conspecifics is a long process that requires a huge amount of time, learning and attention. Probably only few people are willing to dedicate themselves to studying the complexity of chimp behaviour, so there are two options for the less-informed – idealization (and false sense of security) or excessive fear. Sanctuaries and conservation organizations are in a difficult situation if they both want to do PR for their dwellers and educate the public about the complexity of chimp society…..
When I was young, the owner of the ballet studio I attended had a pet chimpanzee. He bit her in the head and she needed 90 stitches. That was my first knowledge of someone having a chimp for a pet, but I really knew very little about them before subscribing to the blog. Even though it has only been a year or so since I signed up, I have already learned so much more than I had ever known or imagined. It makes me wish that everyone would take the time to become better informed about our closest relatives!
Diana, thank you for everything you, J.B. and everyone at CSNW and other sanctuaries do to give chimps the life they deserve. Power Hour is on my calendar.
Thanks for your thought provoking post. It seems as if your position, and the position of other sanctuaries, is a bit of a balancing act. But I believe CSNW and the other accredited sanctuaries do an excellent job informing all of us. Not only do you express how chimpanzees do not belong in captivity, even if that captivity is a sanctuary where they are loved and cared for and are allowed the freedom of choice, you educate your readers to factual information as to who chimpanzees really are. This includes in the wild and in various captive situations. And your job is mission driven. You need to raise funding to provide the chimpanzees a safe, healthy environment (that statement is a massive over simplification of what you do). You do not raise money for personal gain and profit.
Eric Goode’s formula is shock and sensationalism. The more the better. And he does this because it sells, it’s what the public enjoys. However, in “Chimp Crazy” I personally feel as if he went a little off. By deceiving Tonia he was not acting as a true documentarian. If Goode believed in what he was doing, he should have approached Tonia directly and openly filmed the series. By having a false “stand-in” Director, Goode did not tell the truth. I feel Tonia would have been more than willing to partake with Goode but it may have taken a little extra handholding. It was clearly to her benefit to do so. She’s a showman, and she also wants to make a personal profit off of the primates. There are so many shady aspects to the chimp pet breeding, chimp pet trade, chimp pet storytelling, and chimp pet craziness, that perhaps all the deceit playing into it proves the entire point that chimpanzees and other primates are wild animals that should not be pets. Time will tell.
I hope in the end, the bill passes. Unfortunately the documentary will live long beyond people remembering the importance of passing this bill. I’m not sure what the message will be 5-10 years from now if someone binges this series. I am also disturbed by the fact that what sets an accredited sanctuary apart from those who think chimpanzees should be pets was never spelled out more specifically and they had more than ample opportunity to do so. I would have liked one more episode that would have included in depth interviews and explanations about Tonka’s new life at Save The Chimps. And perhaps this imaginary episode would include interviews with significant figures like everyone included in your zoom sessions.
What we really need is for people to understand that humans are not the only species with intelligence, emotions, communication with some form of a language, and sentience. As long as we keep portraying chimpanzees and other animals (even the dogs that we love so dearly and call our family are tortured in laboratories) lacking in all these traits there will always be someone or some institution who will manipulate and/or abuse them for their own personal/corporate gain by experimenting, torturing, or trading them in the black market for numerous horrors. We human animals get away with this cruel inhumane behavior because we have always labeled other species as ‘less than us’. They are not. We must accept and respect all species for their own diversity and characteristics. We must see them as equal. We must educate ourselves.
Every living creature deserves moral consideration.
That is beautiful Kathleen, I really can’t think of anything more to add.