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Win Scored for Young Chimpanzees -- Arthur and Phoenix

Phoenix and Arthur explore their new indoor/outdoor enclosures.

Joint Dismissal of Diamond Action, Inc.'s/Lowell Spinners’ litigation against Greenville Wildlife Park allows Young Chimpanzees, Arthur and Phoenix to Begin New Lives in Florida Sanctuary

--photos and video available--

Weber had intended to exhibit the young chimps during promotional events at the Spinner's ballpark -- a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

 Weber originally purchased 2 1/2 and 2 year-old Arthur and Phoenix from the Coulston Foundation, a New Mexico facility that did research on chimpanzees as well as bred and supplied them to other vivisectors. Coulston has since shut down after years of mounting financial difficulties and citations for Animal Welfare Act violations.

Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care in Florida

NEAVS President Theodora Capaldo said:  “We are greatly relieved to know that Arthur and Phoenix are now in one of the finest sanctuaries in the country. NEAVS is deeply appreciative of Mr. Weber's decision which allowed NEAVS to make the placement."

 In the litigation, Judge Groff of the Hillsboro (NH) Superior Court had granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Diamond Action, Inc., ordering the Greenville Wildlife Park to surrender the chimpanzees to Diamond Action until the case was resolved at trial.  In doing so, Judge Groff found that the chimpanzees’ "living arrangements [at Greenville] will probably have a detrimental effect on their [Arthur's and Phoenix's] appropriate development and socialization." After visiting Greenville several times, we knew that it was essential to move Arthur and P hoenix as quickly as possible,” said Capaldo. “ Mr. Weber had agreed to transfer ownership of Arthur and Phoenix to NEAVS so that NEAVS could permanently place them in an appropriate sanctuary dedicated exclusively to the care and well being of chimpanzees. Mr. Weber is to be highly commended for his unselfish actions. He was willing to listen, consider all of the circumstances and in the end do the right thing by these two young chimpanzees. His decision was the ethically right thing to do. NEAVS hopes that Mr. Weber’s actions will set an example for others who still do not see that chimpanzees should not be used in any form of entertainment or in biomedical research.”

Under NEAVS’ supervision, Arthur and Phoenix were removed from Greenville and temporarily transferred to the Franklin Park Zoo, in Boston, a USDA-licensed facility.

From there, they were transported to the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care in Ft. Pierce, Florida, where they arrived October 28th.  “At this sanctuary, they will not be exhibited or exploited; they will not be someone's "pet"; they will not be trained to perform; and, they will never be available for biomedical research.

“Rather, they will live out their lives in a chimpanzee family in a sanctuary whose board and administration include leaders in chimpanzee behavior, welfare and conservation,” Capaldo said.

Dr. Jane Goodall of the Jane Goodall Institute, Dr. Roger Fouts of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, and Dr. Richard Allen of the Fauna Foundation in Canada, were among the many chimpanzee experts who signed letters or affidavits on behalf of Arthur and Phoenix.

When notified of the successful rescue, Dr. Goodall said: “I am deeply moved that two more chimpanzees will never know the horrors of biomedical research or the confinement and indignities of entertainment. I applaud NEAVS and Dr. Capaldo and everyone who helped Arthur and Phoenix have a much brighter future."       

-end-

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