Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection cares for chimps stolen from the forest used for laboratory testing with horrific experiments now living a happy life

Since 2010, Jenny and Jimmy, along with their dog Princess, have been in Africa working with wildlife conservation organizations that include The Jane Goodall Institute, EcoHealth Alliance, Smithsonian Institute, Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, and ​Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. A team of three, Jenny, Jimmy, and Princess have lived in nine countries together, always with the mission of helping wildlife and furthering conservation initiatives. 

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Immediately upon their arrival in Liberia, chimpanzee orphans literally arrived on their doorstep, needing not only emergency care but lifetime sanctuary. 

Princess plays an important role as a canine caregiver, providing her “siblings” a lot of fun, setting gentle boundaries, and shepherding them toward empathy and mutual understanding.

Princess the dog

 
In 2015, the Humane Society of the United States asked the Desmonds to relocate to Liberia from Kenya to take over care of 66 chimpanzees, living across six islands in an estuarine habitat, who had been retired from medical research. These chimps, formerly the responsibility of the New York Blood Center (NYBC), were on the verge of starvation, having been abandoned by the NYBC some months earlier. Jenny and Jimmy came to Liberia to create new feeding, care, and birth control protocols. Within weeks, the “island chimps” began to trust that food and water would be brought to them consistently; improvements in their demeanor and physical health were remarkable. 

Jimmy is a veterinarian 

Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection grew out of this experience, as word spread that the Desmonds could care for confiscated and orphaned chimps. Immediately upon their arrival in Liberia, chimpanzee orphans literally arrived on their doorstep, needing not only emergency care but lifetime sanctuary. To date, the Desmonds have taken in over 100 chimpanzees, ranging in age from a few months to twenty years. Ideally, these individuals will form a family and live together in a sanctuary that simulates—as closely as possible—a life in the wild.

 

Of course, the Desmond's hope is that fewer and fewer chimps will need care in sanctuaries—because those in the wild will be protected. Now residents of Liberia themselves, the Desmonds work alongside local Liberians, the government and international organizations to charge and arrest wildlife traffickers and poachers involved in the bushmeat and pet trades.
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LCRP is also involved in many complementary programs, partnering with a diverse group of local and international organizations to further wildlife protection and conservation initiatives. Their hope is that with collaborative energy and efforts in all aspects of protection and conservation, the critically endangered chimpanzee and the unique biodiversity of Liberia will thrive.

https://www.liberiachimpanzeerescue.org/

Second Chance Chimpanzee Refuge Liberia is a sanctuary run by Humane World for Animals, caring for dozens of chimpanzees in Liberia, West Africa.

Most of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary were once used in invasive research, many of them for decades. Some were stolen from their forest homes and families as babies, most were born in a laboratory to be experimented on, while others were born after the laboratory closed its chimp program. In the past, chimpanzees were considered suitable biomedical research subjects because they share more than 98% of their DNA with humans. 

However, ethical concerns mounted as growing evidence of chimpanzee intelligence and complex social skills became known and scientific data proved that chimpanzees are not ideal research subjects; as a result, labs experimenting on them began to close. All of the chimpanzees at our sanctuary are amazing, resilient primates. Laboratory life took away their first chance of a free and natural existence. We are so proud to be giving them their second chance.In 1974, a U.S.-based research organization set up a laboratory in Liberia, Africa and began experimenting on chimpanzees. 

It bought baby chimpanzees stolen from the wild, and bred chimps in captivity. For the next three decades, more than 400 chimps were held in barren laboratory cages while being used for painful and invasive hepatitis B and blood cleansing experiments.In the early 2000’s, the laboratory began phasing out experiments on chimpanzees and relocated them in groups on nearby islands. These islands comprised mangrove forest which did not provide sufficient food or fresh water to keep the chimps alive, so the chimpanzees were reliant on humans to survive.

In 2015, funding from the laboratory was withdrawn and Humane World for Animals stepped in to provide emergency care and support to the workers who had continued to look after the chimps. Since then, we have taken on responsibility for the lifetime care of these animals, some of whom could live for another 50+ years. This is a massive undertaking but after all the chimps have been through, it’s the least they deserve.Our dedicated team in Liberia ensures the chimps’ wellbeing and smooth sanctuary operations, traveling about 50 km by boat to the islands twice a day, every day to provide the chimpanzees with nutritious locally sourced fruits and vegetables, daily observation and medication as needed including routine deworming and oral medications to address skin conditions, infections, or pain.

Under our care, the chimpanzees have thrived and are enjoying life, roaming freely on large, natural islands and living in social groups that are as close to chimpanzees in the wild as possible. It is the only sanctuary in Africa to have former laboratory chimps.