Most of these chimps “worked” in U.S. research labs. In 2015, rising opposition forced U.S. labs to stop invasive research on chimps. What has happened to these “retired” chimps since?
Many are in accredited wildlife sanctuaries. They are expensive to feed and to quarter. More than 250 chimps remain in labs. Many have been promised a home, but some—like 18 awaiting permanent homes in a California animal sanctuary (above)—remain in limbo, Nat Geo has found.
Accountability is lacking from the labs who used them. “You shouldn’t be legally allowed to have that animal unless there’s a whole plan—you don’t just get to throw it away,” says Kate Thompson, a board member of California’s 160-acre Wildlife Waystation. “These aren’t inanimate objects—they’re living, breathing things.”
Waiting for a permanent home: Jeff (pictured above left) is the peacemaker of a group of chimps at a California sanctuary. Many came from a closed lab that had kept chimps alone in metal cages (above right). Pictured at top is Magic, one of 18 chimpanzees stranded at California’s Wildlife Waystation.
National Geographic
