GAP Project ordered in Brazilian Justice System an Habeas Corpus to free chimpanzee Jimmy from his cage at Zoonit (zoo at Niterói city, in Rio de Janeiro state), where he lives by himself for 12 years. Zoonit opposed his freedom and transference to GAP Sanctuary. This is the subject of this article. The Habeas Corpus must be sentenced in the second half of November.

Throughout 10 years of existence, Great Primates Sorocaba Sanctuary (Brazil) has already received at least 10 adult chimpanzees with depression and behavior problems who came from zoos in a voluntary negotiation.

Here we mention some of these zoos: Sorocaba, Ribeirao Preto, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Piracicaba, Bauru, which donate to us their chimpanzees for their own will, when they realized that isolation and public harassment impacted them very intensively, resulting in depression, mutilation, anger etc.

All of them are with us and, as far as possible, are being recovered. We had to give anti-depression drugs for some chimpanzees for a long time, until they became normal again and had the chance to enjoy a good life quality.

Zoonit is different? Is it better than the zoos we mentioned above? Is it completely regular in terms of environment law? Does it have large enclosures where the primate can hide from the public? Negative for everything. Zoonit is an ilegal e non regular zoo, which never followed the rules for zoos defined by Ibama, which condemned it publicily and confiscated several animals that were in very bad captivity conditions.

Then, why is it worth to insist that Jimmy remains there when the most humane, ethical em logical is to send him to a place with no public visitation, where he will have the chance to interact with his equals with no public harrasment?

The main reason is economic. Jimmy generates money raising with visitors entrance, news, brings publicity and contributions of the City Hall and local people and institutions. Zoonit is a private zoo that generates economic benefits for one person – its owner – and is different of the zoos mentioned, which are public. 

That’s why Zoonit os different… There Jimmy is treated as a slave to produce economic benefits to humans, who do not care for his basic rights, which should be respected.

President, GAP Project International