PETA Global 2018 Issue 2

W hich of your experiences over the last 20 years stand out? Did you go to college, begin a career, get married, or start a family? Maybe you retired, packed the RV, and crisscrossed the country. That’s the beauty of being free: The possibilities for the future are limitless. But for some, there are no new horizons – no choices. This is usually the case for chimpanzees exploited for human entertainment. Often forced into solitary confinement with no opportunity to form friendships or follow their instincts, these intelligent, social animals can spend decades locked in cages – but not if PETA steps in. A Life of Deprivation When PETA met Joe, he’d been alone for nearly two decades. Instead of roaming a lush rainforest with other chimpanzees, his world was limited to a stall and a small outdoor pen at the sleazy Mobile Zoo in Alabama. He’d been discarded by the entertainment industry when he got too large and strong to control, so he lived on a packed-dirt floor behind double layers of chain link fence – if you could call it “living.” All he could do was sit and stare at a world that he was not allowed to be a part of. Chimpanzees share more than 98% of their DNA with humans, and in the wild, they use tools, mark trails with sticks as directional aids, and build sleeping platforms and nests. But all Joe had to occupy himself were a few old hoses and toddler toys. Visitors were encouraged to throw peanuts at him. PETA Makes Its Case PETA had been working to rescue Joe for years when, in 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service eliminated a loophole that had excluded captive chimpanzees from the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Two concerned citizens joined the organization in filing a lawsuit alleging that the roadside zoo and its owner were violating the law by isolating him and denying him the complex environment that he needed. PETA noted that without companionship or meaningful enrichment, he was pulling out his own hair, a sign of deep psychological distress.

How PET

JR spent a decade in solitary confinement at a roadside zoo before his rescue.

10 THE GREAT (APE) ESCAPE