Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzees

NY Times op-ed by Charles Siebert

by

One year ago, before the Cle Elum Seven arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, I posted a blog entry with a link to a radio interview with Charles Siebert on This American Life.

Today, Siebert had an op-ed printed in the New York Times entitled Something Wild. Here is an excerpt:

There is something about chimpanzees — their tantalizing closeness to us in both appearance and genetic detail — that has always driven human beings to behavioral extremes, actions that reflect a deep discomfort with our own animality, and invariably turn out bad for both us and them.

Siebert uses specific examples of chimpanzee individuals to illustrate humans’ uncomfortable relationship with our closest evolutionary relatives, and our stubborn desire to make them fit into our concepts of of who they are, which manifest not from observing and appreciating chimpanzees as a distinct species,  but from our attempts to make them our human-like playthings as “pets” and “entertainers” or human surrogates in biomedical research.

Siebert explains what I have observed of captive chimpanzees – they live in a world of lost identity. They did not have the opportunity to grow up within a chimpanzee culture, but they cannot fit into our human culture either, no matter how hard we try to force them to.

Sanctuaries like Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest try to make the best out of the inherently unjust situation of captivity. We allow the chimpanzees to be who they are, which is sometimes a strange mix of learned “human” behaviors and a renewed expression of their instinctual chimpanzee selves. Our deepest hope is that we can provide for those in our care while working to ensure that one day sanctuaries like ours will not be necessary because chimpanzees will no longer be used for human purposes.

more on Travis and pet ownership

by

Although much of the coverage on the tragedy of Travis, the chimpanzee in Connecticut who mauled Charla Nash and was subsequently shot and killed, has been frustrating to say the least, there have been a couple of good interviews included in media items very recently which I wanted to share.

This video segment includes an interview from an expert at Save the Chimps Sanctuary in Florida.

This article adds more information to the bigger story. Here’s are a few excerpts from the article:

“A chimpanzee who was shot and killed earlier this week for mauling a Connecticut woman was the offspring of a chimpanzee who made headlines eight years ago when a Festus teenager shot and killed her…..

In 2001, Travis’ 28-year-old mother, Suzy, escaped from Connie Braun Casey’s farm along Highway CC near Festus…..

April Truitt, a primate expert who runs the Kentucky-based Primate Rescue Center Inc., said chimps are too wild to be privately owned. She put more blame on the Caseys for the Connecticut incident than on Herold. She said the Caseys should not have been breeding and selling chimps.”

—-

You can read my reaction to the mauling in this post from Tuesday. One aspect of this story that has not been getting enough coverage is how the demand for chimpanzee “actors” helps to fuel breeding operations like Connie Casey’s. Chimpanzees should not be pets, should not be used in entertainment, and should not be used in biomedical research. There is no legitimate reason for a chimpanzee breeding operation to exist.

Jamie and Burrito were both “raised” by humans for the first years of their lives and used as “entertainers” when they were young. When they became unmanageable like any chimpanzee would, they were put into biomedical research.

Thankfully they now live in a safe, secure, and social environment at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, but others like them are not in sanctuaries, and the tragedy of Travis will occur again if laws are not put into place to make the private ownership of chimpanzees and their use in entertainment illegal.

One immediate action that you can take is to urge your federal representatives to support the Captive Primate Safety Act which would make the interstate and foreign commerce of primates illegal. Learn more from the Humane Society of the United States.

Tragedy of keeping chimpanzees as pets

by

We prefer to keep things focused on the positive and love sharing the daily lives of the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. But the fact is that it is a shame our sanctuary has to exist at all. The Cle Elum Seven never should have been used in research or entertainment. Chimpanzees simply do not belong in biomedical research, entertainment or in people’s homes as pets. Period. And yesterday there was evidence for some of the reasons why this is true.

On Monday afternoon in Stamford, Connecticut a 15 year old chimpanzee “pet” named Travis attacked a woman he had known for years, leaving her in critical condition. When the police arrived at the scene, they fatally shot Travis. There are now numerous stories with greater detail about this incident all over the news, including NBC.

Travis was bred in captivity to be used by humans. He reportedly appeared in commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola. His owners drove him around town. And this was not the first time the authorities of Stamford had to be called in to try to contain him.

For those of us who care for chimpanzees, it is difficult not to be angry about this incident. We know that chimpanzees should not be kept as pets – we’ve seen tragedies like this before. We know that chimpanzees should only be kept in secure enclosures. We know that chimpanzees in entertainment are usually discarded after a few years because they become too difficult to “handle.” And we know that chimpanzees are intelligent, social, amazing, and, yes, sometimes violent beings.

There should be laws in place in every state banning the keeping of chimpanzees as pets. Hollywood by choice or by being forced through legislation should never use a chimpanzee in entertainment again. Our hope is that this tragedy will create action to make these things happen, and we will do our part to help.

Holiday celebration with the Cle Elum Seven

by

Happy Holidays from the Cle Elum Seven. They thank you for all of the gifts, wishes, and support! It was a great day full of gifts, goodies and gratitude. Lots of photographic proof below:

Burrito with gift bag

Burrito using his foot to help open a gift box

Foxie, a blur with her new big pink-haired troll

and with her special Mrs. Claus troll

Jamie investigating a purse full of gifts

Jody deciding that the decorations are as much fun as the toys

plus you can wear them!

Missy surrounded by gifts

Negra in Christmas sun – it was sunny all day!

Annie with handfuls of Field Roast and mashed potatoes

Jody getting full on mashed potatoes, carrots and celery

Missy with a cup full of cranberry sauce and a piece of Field Roast

Negra, from behind, with Field Roast

Burrito loves mashed potatoes!

And watching their new TV!!! We showed them “all about chimpanzees” Burrito was mesmerized. He watched it about seven times.

Jody and Foxie were also really interested. Here’s Jody’s reaction

Happy Thanksgiving

by

At CSNW, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. To everyone who has supported us and spread the word about the amazing Cle Elum Seven, we cannot thank you enough. You have literally given these seven chimpanzees a second chance at life.

And to the chimpanzees who have allowed us the priveledge of becoming your friends, we are eternally grateful.

To all of our blog readers, we wish you could all be here to celebrate this day with the chimps, but I guess you’ll have to settle for some photos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Housewarming, Four Day Countdown, Bizarre News?

by

Gifts for the ChimpanzeesThanks so much to everyone who came to the Housewarming event on Saturday. We had a great turn-out and the chimpanzees received so much wonderful enrichment! I was overwhelmed by the well-wishes from the community, and it was great to celebrate with some who have been involved with the sanctuary since it was just an idea.

I heard from J.B. earlier today – he and Keith are at Buckshire and spent some time with the chimpanzees this afternoon. J.B. said all of the chimpanzees were in good spirits overall (he made sure to tell me how great Negra is, and how much she is going to enjoy her new home at the sanctuary). Everyone is eager to get the journey started! I’ll keep you all updated as I hear more – they will be leaving early in the morning tomorrow.

We’ve been getting some press lately, and this is my favorite – it’s categorized as “bizarre news”: ABC 12 story.

Seems pretty normal to me to be rescuing chimpanzees…

Diana

Visualizing Chimpanzees

by

J.B. and I are now in Washington having finally moved from New York State. After five days of driving, we were both really anxious to see the chimp house as soon as we got here.  For the first time, I could really see the chimpanzees in the building. Before I could imagine it in a theoretical kind of way, but now that their house is getting closer to completion, I could actually see Negra in front of the window on the loft, and I could see Burrito swinging from a firehose attached to the wide bridge that now spans the playroom. And I could see Jody walking out of the building to the outdoor area for the first time.

Keith and the solid and incredible group of volunteers who have helped create this building from scratch have put so much thought into it and have labored so hard, and I could finally see the chimpanzees appreciating all of that work.  The Buckshire Seven arrive in 28 days. It’s hard to believe that in less than one month all of these images that I saw in my mind will be a reality! It will be so great to fill the website with photos and videos of the chimpanzees and be able to tell stories about them everyday. Stay tuned – it’s only a short wait now.

Diana