Foundation
This thriving sanctuary was founded by Jim Cronin in 1987. He got inspired to build the sanctuary for which would home rescued primates, after Spain leased a legislation which banned the use of chimpanzees as props by photographers on beaches or any other resort. The photographers would acquire the chimpanzees from the wild after they were smuggled from their natural families(who would most certainly have to be killed in order to capture the babies) and shipped aboard into Spain where they were sold on the black market to be purchased by beach photographers. The chimpanzees would be dressed in human clothing and accessories, beaten to stay sedate, have most of their teeth knocked out to prevent them biting the tourists they were forced to pose for photographs with and drugged with valium or any other 'calming drugs' to keep the animals under control. Eventually when the chimpanzees reached 6 or 7 years old they grow to become too immensely strong and dangerous and due to their increasing wild behaviour and uncontrollable antics they would be killed and replaced by another smuggled baby chimpanzee. Fortunately the Spanish government reinforced the law which protected chimpanzees and a British couple called Simon and Peggy Templer started a rescue for confiscated chimpanzees. Eventually in 1986 Jim Cronin approached the Templers and discussed on how to create a safe heaven for these mistreated animals and that was when 'Monkey World-Ape Rescue Centre' was hatched, at first as Jim's ambition which progressed to reality.
Jim Cronin leased a 65-acre (260,000 m2) land which was a derelict pig farm prior to Monkey World. He got permission to build his first enclosures and on 13/07/87 brought the first group of 8 beach chimpanzees from the Templers and housed a group of barbary macaques with one hand-reared bornean orangu-utan brought by Jeremy Keeling, who helped Jim to build and construct the sanctuary. More rescues increased the number of primates residing at Monkey World which has now become the largest primate rescue in the world. Monkey World works with foreign governments to stop the illegal smuggling of primates from the wild.
Read more about this topic: Monkey World
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