Released from cages, these former lab chimps are embarking on a new beginning

Chimpanzees are one of humankind’s closest relatives, sharing over 95% of our DNA. Just like us, they can walk upright, laugh, show affection, and groom themselves. When they’re happy and playful, they pull back their lips to show off their bottom teeth. But for decades, a joyful chimp was a rarity. At one point, over 900 of them were confined to laboratories in the United States of America. Their similarity to us made them a target for scientific experiments. 

Chimpanzees have been used by scientists as medical research models for human medicine. They were the ideal substitute during invasive experimental procedures considered too unethical to perform on human subjects. Chimps were often ripped from their family units to endure a life in a laboratory’s steel cages. Researchers dosed them with a range of drugs or purposefully infected them with illnesses such as hepatitis C and malaria so that experts could conduct studies. 

Activists and animal rights groups gained momentum to put an end to experiments on chimps, and in 2015, the USA stopped funding biomedical research on the apes. This meant that federally owned chimpanzees could finally be released. However, this wasn’t the end of their struggles, as the primates weren’t able to return to their natural forest habitats. Captive chimps are robbed of the survival abilities they would have learnt in the wild. But at Chimp Haven, the USA’s National Chimpanzee Sanctuary, these apes have embarked on a new beginning. 

Today, over 300 government-owned chimpanzees reside at the 80-hectare haven. The forested enclosure is based in Louisiana, and is home to animals that have been retired from research and entertainment facilities, or formerly kept as pets. Many of them have been born in labs and have never seen the sky or felt the grass beneath their feet. At Chimp Haven, these social creatures can thrive in family groups and finally feel safe. Life at the sanctuary is a far cry from the isolated and traumatic environment of a lab. This is their second chance to live wild and free.

Footage by Chimp Haven was used in the creation of this film.