Chimps as Pets

 

Save the Chimps often gets asked how someone might obtain a baby chimp of their own as a pet. Partly due to the use of baby chimpanzees in entertainment, some people think that having a chimp as a pet would be a wonderful idea, and most people interested in having a chimp genuinely care about chimps. But chimpanzees do not make good pets. Keeping a chimpanzee a

s a pet is not a rewarding experience for the chimp or the people. It is a journey that begins with the separation of the baby from its mother and often ends with the chimp in solitary confinement for over 40 years.

There is no doubt that chimpanzee babies are adorable, and we can understand why people want them as pets. But buying a chimp comes at a price way beyond the $25,000 to $50,000 you'll need to purchase a chimp. Babies sold in the pet trade are taken from their mothers at birth, which can be traumatic for the mother and the baby. Chimp babies soon grow out of their adorable stage and become dangerous and destructive.

They have minds of their own, and if they want to tip over the refrigerator and eat all of its contents, or just run around tearing down curtains, they will. As the chimp who was once a helpless baby grows into adulthood, they will become many times stronger than you are, able to cause serious injury or death. As a result, your chimp will end up spending their life alone in a cage, a life that can last fifty years, probably beyond your own lifetime.

Many people find they can't manage to take care of an adult chimp, but the choices for these unwanted pets are limited. If they are lucky, a sanctuary will be able to take them, but most sanctuaries are full and have waiting lists. More often they end up in poor conditions in roadside zoos or at breeding facilities. There are sometimes tragic endings, in which an escaped pet chimp is shot to death in order to protect the public. No matter where they end up, a pet chimp who is suddenly asked to leave their life with their human family is often confused and unhappy. It is heartbreaking to watch former pet chimps struggle to figure out where they fit in this world.

Chimps are like us in all the ways that count. If you can imagine how you would feel being taken from your mother, raised by another species, and then suddenly shut away in a cage, then you can imagine how a chimp feels. Mothers love their children, babies depend on their mothers, and they need to live their lives with other chimps, just as we need to live ours with our own human families and friends. If you do care about chimps, please don't obtain a baby chimp as a pet.

Read a Testimony from a former pet chimp owner

Meet our chimps who were once pets

 


April the 1st
September

Billy
Sonny

Herbie
Vicky

 

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