Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
No two souls can cheer me up quite like Annie and Missy. A couple of weeks ago, the BFFs were chasing each other around the hill, taking turns being the chaser and the chasee.
First Annie chased Missy
but she started to gain on her
as Annie passed, Missy playfully bit her shoulder
Then they played a little bit of peak-a-boo through the lexan panels of the cabin
Recently, Converse shoes had a poster in the UK subways featuring a fear-grimacing chimpanzee. After hearing from concerned advocates, they pulled the ads! And, they agreed to never use primates in promotions again. This great news demonstrates that letter writing really is very powerful, and every letter counts.
Since your letters make a difference for our chimpanzee friends, please take a minute to write a letter to the Clark County commissioners to urge them to deny Mike Casey’s permit application to continue to house his chimps in a residential neighborhood in Las Vegas. If you have already written a letter, please share the alert! You can use the sample letter as an example, or use your own words. Be sure to emphasize that this is not only a public safety concern, but it also the right thing to do. Chimpanzees don’t belong in back yards, at birthday parties, at car dealer openings, or on film sets. Captive chimpanzees suffer in these situations, and they belong in sanctuaries that can meet their needs. They get better when they get to a sanctuary (see Jamie below for proof of that). There is sanctuary space available for these chimps.
Here are just two examples of the way chimpanzees are affected by being in Mike Casey’s life:
The hearing is tomorrow – so don’t wait, write your letter today!
And for a reminder of what sanctuary can do, take Jamie (a former “entertainer”). Here she was in June 2008, shortly after her arrival:
And here she is now:
Speak up on behalf of Jamie and all the chimpanzees out there who still need our help.
There is no doubt that Missy is the athlete of the Cle Elum Seven. Her strength, agility, and playfulness amaze and amuse us everyday. Young’s Hill is her playground. Whether she’s climbing the tall bamboo, sprinting up and down the hill, or walking “tightrope” on the fire hose, she’s always on the move.
Most of yesterday’s snow has melted, allowing the chimps to venture out onto the hill without having to walk in the cold stuff. There are still plenty of patches to eat, though, so there’s been lots of activity outside today despite the chilly temperatures. Missy has been having a great time.
She did quite a lot of tightrope walking:
She also did some sprints.
Missy is happy to play by herself, but sometimes she comes to a dead stop mid-sprint:
and looks behind her to see if anyone is chasing her.
Today she was on her own, but you can see by her playface below that she was okay with that.
Last week in Las Vegas, Clark County held a hearing about whether Mike Casey should be granted a permit to continue to house his exotic animals in an RV in his backyard. Casey is the person responsible for breeding and selling Travis, the chimpanzee who mauled Charla Nash in Connecticut in 2009.
Chimpanzees, as we know, should be with their mothers when they are young. Though no chimpanzee should have to live in captivity, since they can’t be returned to the wild they should live in a sanctuary where their social, psychological, and physical needs can be met. And, of course, no chimpanzee should ever be forced to perform. Casey has bred chimpanzees like Travis who have become pets or used by the entertainment industry.
Casey has a record of abuse. He has reportedly beaten his chimps with his fists, thrown hot water on them, and hit them with a rod.
Chimpanzees are wild animals, and they can and will bite. It is within their nature to be violently aggressive, even toward their closest friends. As we know in the case of Travis, humans are simply not built to take the aggression that chimps can inflict on others. Housing chimpanzees so close to human homes is dangerous.
Despite these issues, Casey made his case to the Enterprise Town Advisory Board, and the permit request is moving forward to the County Commission on November 21st. Act now and suggest that the county deny his request. Ask that the chimpanzees be sent to a reputable sanctuary where they belong. You can use the sample letter below or write one of your own. Send it to County Commission District G at [email protected] and encourage your friends to write, also!
Sample letter to Clark County Commissioners:
I am greatly concerned about James “Mike” Casey’s permit application to house chimpanzees on his property. This is a danger to the nearby residents. Chimpanzees have been known to escape and attack humans, causing severe injuries. One infamous case is of Travis, one of the chimpanzees Casey bred, who was shot after he attacked his neighbor and nearly ripped her face off.
In addition to public safety concerns, the welfare of these individual chimpanzees is also at stake. Casey has a history of animal abuse. The chimpanzees are housed in small, reportedly unsanitary conditions. They should be where their physical, psychological, and social needs can be met. A reputable sanctuary would dedicate resources to ensuring quality lifetime care for these chimpanzees. It is what they deserve.
I hope the Commission will choose to make the compassionate and safe decision to deny the permit to keep these chimpanzees in a residential neighborhood. Thank you for your consideration of my comments.
**If you send an email, please don’t forget to BCC [email protected] for tracking purposes**
Negra did a little bit more exploring of Young’s Hill this morning. She ventured out very confidently right when I opened the door and walked out to the nearest log structure. She sat down and seemed pretty comfortable to me, especially since I have only seen her in this spot a couple of times- the first only being last week.
After a little bit, she seemed to lose some of her confidence though and was looking for a little bit of reassurance from her friends.
And Jamie was happy to oblige
The reassurance from Jamie seemed to inspire Negra to be a little more adventurous and she went further than I’ve seen her go on the hill. She seemed very proud of herself.
I guess yesterday’s Jamie-ween party was just so exhausting, Foxie couldn’t help but take a big yawn. Here she is holding the Dora doll donated by Bailey as mentioned in yesterday’s blog.
It is no accident that the boss’s birthday is our biggest party of the year! Jamie’s (honorary) 35th birthday party has been pretty epic! In addition to caregivers being decked out in goofy Halloween get-ups, we had tons of mini pumpkins, pomegranates (a favorite), pinatas, several new pairs of boots from friends (1 from Linda Gere, 1 from Dick and Robbi Brown, and 1 from Tamela Burgess), and a giant pumpkin carved by the super artistic volunteer Stephanie.
It may have been the boss’s day, but that doesn’t mean she’s the only one that gets presents! Foxie’s new friend Bailey Ford sent her a brand new Dora the Explorer doll, which she wrapped in a cute box covered in stickers. Jamie opened it first:
but everyone knew it was for Foxie! She quickly took her Dora out to the hill for some exploring:
Stephanie is amazing at finding pinatas and decorations, and given that it’s her (and my) favorite holiday, Jamie-ween is always over the top!
Annie with the skull pinata:
and Jamie’s birthday decor would not be complete without a boot pinata!
Juice seems to be an all-time favorite party treat around here. Burrito was a squeaking machine!
Jamie with one of her new pairs of boots
For some reason Missy didn’t end up in a lot of our photos, but we did manage to get this one close up of her munching on a pomegranate.
We put out several mini pumpkins on Young’s Hill. They were filled with a mixture of pears and blackberries. Negra was the first to rush out the door when I opened it this morning. She was so excited about the mini pumpkins!
She would grab as many as she could in her hands and mouth and carry them inside to enjoy in the greenhouse. But as soon as she was done, she was back out for more! This went on all morning long (even hours later). She may not spend a lot of time on the hill, but I think it’s safe to say that she is feeling more and more comfortable, especially with the right kind of motivator!
Jody enjoyed them too
Once their palates were set on pumpkins, there was no stopping Jody and Negra from diving into the big one! Jody munched on it for a while but once Negra was finished collecting mini pumpkins from the hill, she happily took over.
The large pumpkin has been passed around to everyone today, though. Burrito had his head in it earlier and then shared a little with Annie. I think we all know who is going to be sleeping good tonight!
Thanks so much to Robbi, Dick, Tamela, Linda, Bailey, Wanda and Stephanie for making today such an awesome celebration! Here’s to the boss!
