In the face of the unprecedented tragedy at the Krefeld Zoo, in Germany, on the first night of the year, in which five orangutans, two gorillas, one chimpanzee and 30 other primates and birds were burned alive, the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, in São Paulo, Brazil, together with GAP Project International, makes an urgent request to the German authorities to transfer the surviving and deeply traumatized chimpanzees to the sanctuary.

The animals died in the fire because they were trapped in cubicles at night, a common practice in zoos that “put them away” at dusk. They simply could not escape the fire, which was worse due to the lack of proper equipment and security monitoring. At the sanctuary in Sorocaba, chimpanzees live in large enclosures, an average of 1,000 square meters, and have complete freedom to come and go between open and covered areas.

Read here the official manifesto of GAP Project International on the tragedy – https://www.projetogap.org.br/en/noticia/gap-spain-condemns-the-fire-that-occurred-in-the-krefeld-zoo-germany-where-eight-great-apes-have-died/