Oliver
From Primarily Primates:
“This video features the chimpanzee known as Oliver, an individual ripped from Africa in the 1960s to become “one of the most exploited and studied chimpanzees in history.’ Oliver’s life stands as one of the saddest contemporary examples of humanity’s custom of controlling the rest of the planet’s inhabitants.”
Primarily Primates is a sanctuary for primates who have been used as research tools among other things. That is, it’s a place where labs send primates when they are done performing cruel and unnecessary experiments on them.
Primarily Primates is a controversial place. Notable animal organizations involved were: PETA and Friends of Animals. There is some discussion of the controversy on Wikipedia if you’re interested in reading the history.
To learn accurate accounts of the horrific suffering of hundreds of animals housed at Primarily Primates please visit http://www.kermitscommunity.com
Dear Sir
My name is Terry and back around 1975 I was in a volunteer program at a place called Enchanted Village in Buena Park under the guidence of Ralph Helfer. One day they told Me about a very special chimp that walked upright, it was Oliver.
They put little red shorts on him then paraded him around in shows.
In my free time I would sit for hours and talk to him, after I left there I would wonder what happened to him.
I would tell people about this really special chimp that walked upright and I didn’t hear anything about him for over 30 years.
I was amazed last year when I was watching tv with my wife and up popped a story about him, and I screamed to her, look that’s the chimp I told you about so many times and I was saddened to hear what his life had turned out to be. I am glad to hear that he is in a place where he is not stuck in a tiny cage and there are people to care for him.
Thank you for being there and making his last few years comfortable and safe.