The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary

[snowleopard]

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is a book by Andrew Westoll that was first published in 2011. The author spent 3 months living at the facility, which is located in the rural countryside in the Province of Quebec in Canada. I found it to be a fascinating read as it mainly focused on 13 rescued chimpanzees who went from living in tiny metal cages in laboratories to enjoying a different kind of "freedom" at Fauna Sanctuary. Learning how the great apes develop or decline once removed from their 5 x 7 foot homes in the labs is incredibly intriguing, and the book also shines a light on the caregivers of the animals and what is required to treat elderly, sick chimps. I feel that prospective readers must be warned that there are some heartbreaking stories in regards to the lifestyles of the apes in the labs, as invasive surgeries and psychological trauma are a part of all of their lives. What some of the chimps had to go through is horrendous, but at least they were offered a way out of their terrible environment and the number of chimps in biomedical labs has plummeted over the past decade. There have not been many breakthroughs in science due to testing on chimpanzees, and ethically, morally, financially and scientifically it seems that for the most part lab testing on chimps has been a complete disaster.

I highly recommend this book:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Chimps-Fauna-Sanctuary-Resilience/dp/0547737386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391186184&sr=8-1&keywords=the+chimps+of+fauna+sanctuary"]The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A True Story of Resilience and Recovery: Andrew Westoll: 9780547737386: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]


Of note is that besides Fauna there are a number of other sanctuaries for chimpanzees rescued from laboratories, circuses and pet owners. I spent quite a bit of time researching some of these facilities online, and it will be curious as to what will happen to them 20 years from now as already most of the rescued chimps in the United States are elderly and suffering from a variety of ailments.

Save the Chimps (with more than 300 chimps!)
Chimp Haven
Center for Great Apes
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Chimps Inc.
Primate Rescue Center
Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute

 

[Taisha]

This book is already on my list.
But there is also another new book:

Opening doors, by Gary Ferguson
It is about Save the Chimps and its founder Carol Noon.

Anybody has red it yet?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Of note is that besides Fauna there are a number of other sanctuaries for chimpanzees rescued from laboratories, circuses and pet owners. I spent quite a bit of time researching some of these facilities online, and it will be curious as to what will happen to them 20 years from now as already most of the rescued chimps in the United States are elderly and suffering from a variety of ailments.

Save the Chimps (with more than 300 chimps!)
Chimp Haven
Center for Great Apes
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Chimps Inc.
Primate Rescue Center
Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute

@snowleopard, point taken on board!

Indeed what will happen to those facilities when all the rescued chimps are gone? I wish the GRASP would be a good umbrella for them to go from re-active to pro-active in in situ rehabilitation efforts and ex situ conservation work / breeding (we do need reserve populations of known ancestry of chimpanzees for conservation breeding and to educate the general public on great apes).

 

[zooman]

Save the chimps, ad never heard of them until now, they seem to be doing some amazing work!

 

[marmolady]

I have read 'The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary' and it is a favourite of mine, very moving. I've supported several such sanctuaries in the US for several years now and am looking forward to reading 'Opening Doors'.

I can't imagine any of these sanctuaries will ever actively breed chimps, as the shared belief seems to be that chimpanzees should not be in captivity. I imagine sanctuaries like this will have chimps to care for from labs, and the pet and entertainment industries for several decades to come.