Urge the DeYoung Zoo to Retire Louie to a Reputable Sanctuary! (E action)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/deyoung-zoo-retire-louie-sanctuary/?utm_campaign=112415%20Solitary%20Chimpanzees%20Louie%20Tootie%20Joe&utm_source=PETA%20E-Mail&utm_medium=Alert




In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at a dreadful roadside attraction called the DeYoung Family Zoo, a young, energetic chimpanzee named Louie is being kept in solitary confinement in a small cage. Louie was shipped to Michigan as an infant, and rather than growing up with his mother, he was forced to be a prop for photo opportunities at the zoo. It's time that Louie get the companionship, enrichment, and care that he needs at a reputable sanctuary.

Chimpanzees are highly social animals. In the wild, they live in large groups, and chimpanzee youngsters wrestle with and playfully chase others all day and follow their mothers around everywhere while they learn how to find food and make tools. Young chimpanzees aren't weaned until they are 4 or 5 years old, and male chimpanzees never leave the group they are born into, so the mother-son bond is extremely strong. Louie was never afforded the opportunity to know his mother and has never been able to form social relationships with other chimpanzees. Just like humans, chimpanzees suffer from loneliness, boredom, and depression. When Louie got to be too big to be used for photo ops, the DeYoung Zoo locked him up in a tiny cage, where he remains in solitary confinement. Louie's space is even more limited by the fact that winters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are harsh and inhospitable for a chimpanzee—undoubtedly forcing Louie to spend much of his time cramped indoors.

FULL info and sign at link.

[840high]

1. k/r