Chimpanzee at "Monkey World"

Jon Brooks

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Chimpanzee at Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre


Monkey World (fully referred to as Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre) is a 65-acre (26.3 ha) ape and monkey sanctuary and rescue centre near Wool, Dorset, England. Set up in 1987 by the late Jim Cronin, and later operated by both him and his wife Alison, it was originally intended to provide a home for abused chimpanzees used as props by Spanish beach photographers, but is now home to many different species of primates.

Monkey World works with foreign governments to stop the illegal smuggling of wild primates. The facility made the news in January 2008 with what The Guardian called "the world's biggest rescue mission of its kind," when it saved 88 capuchin monkeys from a laboratory in Santiago, Chile, where some of the animals had been kept in solitary cages for up to 20 years. The operation was carried out at the request of the laboratory, and with help from the Chilean Air Force, who flew the animals to Bournemouth airport with special permission from the British government.

In August 2010 Monkey World rescued a Bornean Orang-utan called Oshine from Johannesburg, South Africa. On 7 December 2010 Monkey World rescued an orphan baby Sumatran Orang-utan called Silvestre from a zoo in Spain. In January 2011, Monkey World rescued a chimpanzee named Kiki from Lebanon.

Set amongst the woodland of Dorset lays 65 acres of sanctuary for over 240 primates. Monkey World was set up in 1987 by Jim Cronin to provide abused Spanish beach chimps with a permanent, stable home. Today Monkey World works in conjunction with foreign governments from all over the world to stop the illegal smuggling of apes out of Africa and Asia. At the park visitors can see more than 240 primates of 16 different species.

There are currently 59 chimpanzees at Monkey World, in 4 different social groups. Monkey World has rescued chimpanzees from Spain, Greece, France, England, Austria, The Netherlands, Israel, Cyprus, Dubai, Mexico and Taiwan where they were being used and/or abused in laboratories, as exotic pets, as photographer's props, or as circus animals. Their exact histories vary, but the majority of them share part of the same story. Born in Africa, chimpanzees are taken from their family groups as youngsters. Poaching expeditions for bush meat and the capture of young animals results in the slaughter of adults as they try and defend their babies and extended family. It is estimated that the removal of one infant will result in the death of up to ten other chimpanzees. The young animals are smuggled out of Africa and then sold illegally abroad.

In the case of Spanish beach chimps, they are dressed up in human clothes and worked in tourist resorts, often for 16 hours per day as a photographer's prop. When the chimpanzees reach 4 or 5 years of age they become uncontrollable and are usually killed in order to be replaced with a new baby chimp. Some photographers will try and control their chimps by beating them and pulling their teeth out and/or putting them on drugs. Monkey World, in co-operation with Spanish authorities, confiscates all known beach chimpanzees. New arrivals are given a full medical check and such examinations often reveal serious injuries such as machete wounds and broken bones. Many of the chimps come to us addicted to drugs. Recovery and rehabilitation is a lengthy process with many of the animals suffering from malnutrition and anaemia.

At Monkey World we rehabilitate the chimpanzees into large social groups but we keep the females on birth control. There are still many chimpanzees that need rescuing and, for this reason, we do not allow our animals to breed in order that we have the space and funding to rescue others. At present there are 4 groups of chimpanzees at the park; two groups of 20, one of 15 and a nursery group of 5. Each group is given at least 1 hectare of land.

Monkey World is also working in Asia with the Pingtung Rescue Centre for Endangered Wild Animals to try to stop the smuggling of gibbons and orang-utans from the wild. We are also conducting undercover surveys of the illegal pet trade in South East Asia.

On site there is a hospital and operating theatre where most of the medical examination and operations on the apes and monkeys are performed.

Monkey World has featured in many television programmes including:

ITV -- Nature Watch;
BBC - Operation Chimpanzee;
BBC - State of the Ark which highlighted our rescue and rehabilitation work;
BBC - Animal Hospital;
CNN & Sky TV - Highlighting a rescue operation in Turkey of smuggled chimpanzees;
ITV -- GMTV covering the illegal pet trade in Turkey.
BBC -- QED Saving Trudy.
Granada and Discovery Channels -- 9 series of 'Monkey Business' were produced, documenting Monkey World's rescue and rehabilitation work.
Channel 5 and Animal Planet - the 'Monkey Life' series continues on from 'Monkey Business' and is in continual production at the park.