Born Free’s new report Our Captive Cousins: The Plight of Great Apes in Zoos has been published today.
Backed by world renowned experts, conservationists and celebrities, it’s calling for an urgent, humane phase-out of great apes in zoos, and is urging the public not to visit attractions which exploit our closest cousins for profit.
21 zoos in the UK and Channel Islands currently keep around 300 great apes in captivity, including nine at Chessington World of Adventures, which Jackie News approached for comment.
Chessington Zoo is home to a troop of nine Western Lowland Gorillas. They include the silverback Damisi, breeding females Shani, Shanga, and Asili, teenagers Mbula, Mwana, and Kuanza, and babies Kipande and Aarde.
The charity says great apes in zoos experience traumatic births, high rates of stillbirths, maternal rejection, and instances of infanticide.
The report also questions claims by zoos that the keeping and breeding of great apes in captivity is important for their conservation.
The report cites zoo-bred great apes are genetically and behaviourally unsuitable for release into the wild, and releasing zoo-bred apes poses serious risks to wild populations, as confirmed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
