Exclusively for zoos.media – 06/29/2023. Author: Philipp J. Kroiss
It’s sometimes kind of frightening how naive some media are. They probably believe every fairy tale by the animal rights industry. Especially concerning the chimpanzee Vanilla, however, it would not have been so challenging to find out the truth.
The Tale of Chimpanzee Vanilla
Media around the world are ecstatic. Why? A video in which the “rescued” chimpanzee Vanilla would allegedly see the sky for the first time in a sanctuary is spread. A more detailed investigation would have revealed that this is a lie from the animal rights industry. However, such an investigation seems to be asking too much of different media. They happily share the propaganda for poor chimpanzee husbandry in the United States.
Lab already closed for decades
“After 28 years in captivity as a laboratory ape, chimpanzee Vanilla sees the sky for the first time,” it is claimed, for example. But that’s just wrong. She was born in the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) in 1994, but that has already been closed since the end of the last millennium. Where has she been in the meantime? In a sanctuary founded by an animal rights activist. Of course, the Wildlife WayStation also had outdoor enclosures. So, she also saw the sky there. This can also be seen very clearly here in a promo video of the facility.
So, there is absolutely nothing to the story. Vanilla has been living outdoors for well over 20 years. Of course, it is just as undisputed that the Wildlife WayStation does not practice proper or modern chimpanzee husbandry. But that doesn’t change in the other sanctuary, where she is said to have seen the sky for the first time. By the way, the Wildlife WayStation has closed and the animals have been moved to other sanctuaries run by the animal rights industry.
Actually no change
So what ended up changing for vanilla? Nothing. She went from one bad attitude to the next. The only thing she did is look up a few times. Probably not even because of the sky, but maybe a familiar person who had positioned himself strategically, food that was thrown over the fence, or something else like that. The media still believe it and one could ultimately call it cheating on the recipient to spread this story in sound, image, and writing.
Her new sanctuary, called Save the Chimps, Inc, is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). This organization is known for greenwashing the poor husbandry of large primates, like chimpanzees, as well as the poor husbandry of elephants and other animals. It is a surrogate organization of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which is known for advertising that could be described as fraudulent. The organization advertises the fate of animal shelter animals for donations, although hardly any of the donations to the HSUS even get there.
Sanctuary lies
The animal rights industry sells the sanctuary system they maintain as a solution for animals. Animal rights activists claim animals from circuses and zoos would even be better off there. That is simply a lie. Essential basic needs are denied to the animals there. GFAS sanctuaries force their animals to stop reproduction. However, reproduction is of great importance for chimpanzees, both individually and in groups, in order to build up natural group structures and live out their natural behavior. They are denied this – with all the health and group-dynamic side effects that such complete contraception entails.
So, Vanilla has no chance of a natural group structure and will never be able to start a family as would be normal for a chimpanzee. She is now simply waiting for her death in this bad husbandry – in the company of other chimpanzees who experience the same. To cover this up, the sanctuary advertises a lot of enclosed space, which is embellished with very few climbing opportunities. It is often suppressed, but such scenes also belong to the reality of this facility:
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So, ultimately, the animal rights industry sells lies. These sanctuaries are by no means better husbandries than those found in reputable zoos, for example. In fact, those sanctuaries are worse. In addition, the animal rights industry thinks up fairy tales like the current one about vanilla, just to distract from how bad the husbandry really is. In doing so, they rely on the stupidity and ignorance of the media so that they can spread their sentimental tales. With some media in the USA, Germany, and other countries, they have probably backed the right card.
