Chimpanzee sanctuary in Cle Elum gives chimps a second chance at life
CLE ELUM, Wash.- Seven chimps at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest spend most of their free time swinging around, playing with dolls, and going on long walks.
"They are able to come to a sanctuary and get to experience things they have never experienced before," said Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest Co-Director Diana Goodrich.
Goodrich moved to Cle Elum when the chimps first arrived at the sanctuary back in 2008. She says they weren't always roaming around in a play area the size of almost two football fields.
"When they were originally put on the endangered species list, chimps in the wild were endangered and chimps in captivity were not. That allowed humans to use them in biomedical testing labs, keep them in their homes as pets, and use them in entertainment," said Goodrich.
All seven chimps came from a research lab that tested them for hepatitis vaccines. Before that, some of them were used to entertain people for several years.
"They have a lot of the same needs as we do. To see them live in small enclosures and be used for medical testing, and be seen as a means to an end rather than valuable lives is difficult," said Goodrich.
Now all chimps are considered endangered, making it tough for people to use animals for testing or entertainment. Goodrich says they are now expanding their sanctuary so they can give more chimps a new forever home.
"We just want to provide a home for them to live their lives. We want them to get to know who they are and live in a social group, and really treat them like chimpanzees again," said Goodrich.
The sanctuary will be adding a medical clinic, a quarantine and introduction space for new chimps, and they will eventually add more play rooms.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is a non-profit organization and they rely on community donations.
Goodrich says right now there is no medical testing being done in the U.S. on chimpanzees.
