Rescued! Two Chimpanzees Swap Miserable German Zoo for Lovely Welsh Sanctuary

Meet Uschi and Kaspar. For years, these chimpanzee siblings were kept in a small, dark and ill-equipped enclosure at Tierpark Nadermann, a zoo in western Germany.

In these miserable conditions, the intelligent animals could not fulfil their natural urges to exercise and play. They became overweight because visitors fed them popcorn and biscuits and threw sweets at them. Unsurprisingly, they were deeply depressed, constantly plucking out their own body hair – a recognisable sign of mental distress in primates.

Luckily, compassionate people learnt of their plight. PETA Germany worked with other pro-animal groups, including Animal Public, The Great Ape Project and Pro Wildlife, to rescue the apes. These advocates complained to the authorities, gathered signatures from more than 20,000 people, consulted a renowned primate expert and released a video exposing the chimpanzees’ suffering.

And all this hard work paid off! At the beginning of December, Uschi and Kaspar were transferred to the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary in the Brecon Beacons.

These pictures, taken just a few hours after they arrived at their new home, already show how much happier the animals are:

At the sanctuary – which houses many chimpanzees and other monkeys rescued from zoos, circuses and laboratories – the animals will not be exploited and put on display. Instead, everything will be done to meet their needs, and they will have plenty of space and equipment so that they can play, climb and interact with other members of their species.

Thank you to everyone who helped give these two animals a happy ending!

Even the “best” zoos treat animals as commodities and are more concerned with making money than ensuring animals’ welfare. Please don’t support animal “prisons” – a better way to learn about animals is to visit a sanctuary or get to know your local wildlife.