There’s no doubt that you’ve been a great supporter of Save the Chimps.  This is why we’re reaching out to you on behalf of chimps like Thoto…

Thoto is one chimpanzee who has seen it all – all the darkness and cruelty humans bring into the lives of our closest relative.  Captured in Africa – ripped from the arms of his dying mother, Thoto was forced into a life as a circus performer.  When this cute baby started to grow up, he was punished for it:  all his teeth were removed – yet this couldn’t keep him a docile performer forever.

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Thoto

Eventually, the circus sold him to the Coulston Foundation – a biomedical laboratory with the worst record of any lab in the history of the Animal Welfare Act – where he entered a waking nightmare.  There Thoto endured 16 years of untold misery as a medical research subject living in “the Dungeon.”  Finally in 2002 Thoto was rescued by Save the Chimps.

Nuri Mickey-at-Coulston Juan
At the Coulston Foundation

Most of the residents at our Florida sanctuary live in groups on 3-acre islands, yet years of exploitation and abuse have robbed others of the ability to live in this setting. Thoto is one of many chimps in our care who has been crippled physically and emotionally during their dark pasts.  It’s on behalf of these chimps – our most needy residents  – that I hope to reach out to you.

The renovation of our Introduction Building will finally give our neediest chimps the life they’ve
been waiting for – an environment rich with love, play and the dignity to make choices – choices about whether to enjoy the sun or gaze out at the world from inside.  The “Great Chimpanzee Migration” – our multi-year effort to relocate the Coulston Laboratory chimps to their permanent home in Florida – is nearing completion.

But we can’t continue this great effort without your help to create a permanent home for special needs chimps like…

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Nuri Thoto Clay
Has been brutually marked by years in the lab with legs permanently disfigured by confinement and is too scared to join other chimps on the islands. While 45-year-old Thoto may be brimming with energy and playfulness, a heart condition puts his life at risk. After years of horror is too badly scarred by years of pain and isolation to ever experience the comforts of friendship.

After suffering so much – humiliation, exploitation, pain and brutal experimentation – these chimps deserve something better.  And they need it now. That’s why I’m hoping I can count on friends like you – to help us complete their Special Needs Housing.

We can’t erase the scars. We can’t give Thoto back his teeth, mend Nuri’s legs or reconstruct Clay’s harrowing past. But we can give them a new chance at happiness.

A bright new world awaits these chimps at their permanent home in Florida. So please,donate today to help us complete preparations to receive all our special needs chimps. Your generosity empowers our mission to provide the happiest, most comfortable lives for all of the chimps in our care.  We can’t do it without YOU.

It is your compassion and generosity that makes our work possible. Thank you.

 

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