Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, it’s a well-known fact. But what does that really mean? For many decades, it meant that chimpanzees were used as substitutes for humans. We are so like them that scientists believed that their bodies could be used to gain a deeper understanding of everything from brain function, to the efficacy of certain drugs.
But we now know that our close bond with chimpanzees is about much more than just our shared physical traits. We’ve learned that what we once considered uniquely human — social intelligence, wide-ranging emotions, non-verbal communication, tool use — is anything but. As Jane Goodall says in Safe Haven for Chimps, “chimps show there’s no sharp line dividing us from the rest of the animal kingdom.”
Biomedical research on chimps has persisted, despite everything we’ve learned. The U.S. is one of the last countries to allow it. But now that’s changing, signaling an evolution in our thinking.
Safe Haven for Chimps travels to the American deep south to Chimp Haven sanctuary to meet a special group of chimps, following a landmark decision in the U.S. to retire 300 federally-owned chimpanzees. It could mean the beginning of the end for all chimpanzees in research in the U.S. It’s been a long and complicated road, but as ethicist Lori Gruen says, “When I first started working on topics related to captive chimpanzees something like 20 years ago, I had really no idea that by this point in time we would be discussing the retirement of chimpanzees…”
In Safe Haven for Chimps we meet people who know that looking after former research chimpanzees means more than just rescuing them from a difficult life. A dramatic arrival from the lab sets the stage for a complicated journey that a retired chimpanzee must take before settling into a new life at the sanctuary.
Safe Haven for Chimps reveals how sanctuary staff care for these intelligent animals, some of whom can live for decades.
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