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“Serious” Violations at HSUS Sanctuary, OSHA Finds

Published on humanewatch.org the 16.07.2020.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has found serious violations at the HSUS sanctuary “Project Chimps“.

» to the full article

Note: It is fascinating how the animal rights industry sells this and other comparable facilities as being a kind of “better zoos”, even though the quality of the husbandry is much worse. Photographs from the facility are revealing:

 

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Sarah and Loretta at Project Chimps, inside Harmony Villa. Their group was denied habitat access for 8 months due to a construction project and poor planning. During this time, many of them developed stress behaviors such as hair plucking and rocking. Even with “regular” habitat access, the chimpanzees at the sanctuary spend around 150 out of 168 hours a week inside these villas. Not outdoors. Not in the habitat. Sarah and Loretta are only 11 years old and could spend another 40-50 years living mostly inside a concrete building. I was fired after three years for raising these concerns, so now I have to raise them publicly. For three years I was encouraged to get photos that perpetuated the myth that the chimps are happy, healthy, and constantly outdoors. I was told to crop out wounds and not feature chimps with hair loss. But no efforts were made to actually address those problems. Just efforts to cover them up. This is not okay. This is not what they were promised. This is a GFAS accredited sanctuary, funded by @billmaher @rachaelray and @thekatvond just to name a few. Helpthechimps.org . . . . . #chimpanzees #endangeredspecies #projectchimps #blueridgega #animalwelfare #sarahchimp #lorettachimp #animalsofinsta #animalactivism #chimps #primates #greatapes

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Crystal Alba (@crystalalbaphoto) am

 

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This is Precious. Prior to arriving at the Project Chimps sanctuary from a lab in Louisiana, she was diagnosed with kidney disease. Project Chimps claimed that they will provide her with “extra attention” and “optimal medical care” by monitoring her fluid intake and weight and by encouraging her to participate in training. In the 2 years Precious has been at Project Chimps they have recorded her weight only four times. They do not monitor her fluid intake and the training program is virtually nonexistent. Project Chimps is not providing optimal care to this chimp or the others in their care who have similar medical conditions due to their experiences in medical research. Project Chimps must hire an EXPERIENCED primate veterinarian as soon as possible to care for these chimpanzees. Project Chimps is a sanctuary for chimps who have retired from medical research, and they have the health conditions to prove it. Unless someone with knowledge and experience is brought in to care for these chimps, their conditions will continue to be ignored and mistreated until it’s too late. Help be a voice for Precious and the other chimps at the sanctuary by visiting and sharing the website, www.HelpTheChimps.org. Continue to post on Project Chimps and HSUS social medias to raise awareness. Together we can raise our voices loud enough to be heard. – Photo by the incomparable Crystal Alba @crystalalbaphoto – #PreciousChimp #ProjectChimps @gfassanctuary @napsaprimates @humanesociety

Ein von @ chimpsdeservebetter geteilter Beitrag am

 

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Arielle, on the porch of Cedar Tree villa. Arielle is one of the youngest Project Chimps residents and she began plucking out her hair shortly after arriving. Now, she frequently regurgitates in the mornings. Nothing has been done to mitigate her stress or even identify the source of it. PC says she’s stressed because the alpha female in her group goes into the habitat and she can’t see her. This isn’t true. Arielle began plucking long before her group even had habitat access. What’s more, they currently only go outdoors every third day and Arielle also goes into the habitat with the alpha female. It’s another excuse to avoid addressing problems. Stress behaviors warrant systematic observations and plans to address them. Arielle deserves that. Just like she deserves better than a cold concrete floor for housing at a GFAS accredited sanctuary, funded by HSUS. HSUS denies any culpability here, yet they hold several spots on the Project Chimps board, provide funding, make key decisions, and more. Any project chimps email address can be substituted with hsus.org. Project chimps staff cell phones are issued and monitored by HSUS. Sounds pretty involved to me. . . . . . #chimpanzee #sanctuary #projectchimps #ariellechimp #primates #endangeredspecies #hsus #blueridgega #animalwelfare #animalsanctuary #chimps

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Crystal Alba (@crystalalbaphoto) am

This once again shows that the animal rights industry has double standards. A zoo, with as bad a husbandry as “Project Chimps”, would have certainly been pilloried by the animal rights industry a long time ago.

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