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  • From: Josh Greenman <joshg1973 AT yahoo.com>
  • To: monkeywire AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [monkeywire] Feds, activists question treatment of ex-Metrozoo chimp at Texas zoo
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:10:55 -0400

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl- cchimp26may26,0,2435524.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Feds, activists question treatment of ex-Metrozoo chimp at Texas zoo

By David Fleshler
Staff Writer

May 26, 2004

During the 1980s, Edith the chimpanzee entertained visitors at Miami Metrozoo. Today, Edith is no longer young and cute. She lives in a cage at a roadside zoo in Texas, where an animal rights group and a federal inspection found chimpanzees living in unsanitary conditions, fed dog food and spoiled vegetables, and given few toys or other means of breaking their boredom.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida have taken up Edith's cause. They sent letters to Edith's former owner, Bern Levine, owner of Parrot Jungle in Miami, and to Metrozoo, which had leased Edith from Levine, asking them to help pay for her to go to a nonprofit refuge on the Peace River in Florida.

"Presumably once a loved and crowd-pleasing figure at the Miami Metrozoo, Edith now languishes -- abandoned, depressed and nearly hairless -- in a filthy pseudo-sanctuary," states a letter from Lisa Wathne, PETA's captive exotic animal specialist, to Eric Stephens, director of Metrozoo. "Edith will be 40 years old this August. To date, her life has been managed and manipulated by the zoo community, which ultimately abandoned her to spend her `golden years' living in filth and neglect."

The animal rights groups are asking Levine and the zoo to help send Edith to the Center for Great Apes, a sanctuary in Wauchula, west of Bradenton, which provides care for apes that had been used for entertainment, pets or research. The center keeps them in big outdoor habitats with swings, toys, climbing equipment, good food and companionship with their own species.

Paul Vrooman, spokesman for Metrozoo, said the zoo wasn't responsible because it never owned Edith, only leased her. He said the zoo wanted to help but wasn't sure what to do.

"We are watching the situation and seeing what we can do," he said. "But it's important to realize that we didn't own that chimp."

Levine, her former owner, said he gave Edith to Amarillo only after checking it out to make sure she would be treated well. Now hearing of the accusations against the center, he's worried about her.

"We felt that we were doing the right thing at the time," he said. "Do we feel responsible? We do feel responsible in some way."

An undercover investigator from PETA worked at the Amarillo refuge until August 2003, secretly using a video camera to document animal abuse. PETA says the investigator found animals living in filthy cages, surrounded by feces, given dirty water and suffering from untreated infections and other health problems.

An inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture backed up many of PETA's charges. The inspection found no regular veterinary care. It found that monkeys were being fed dog food and spoiled vegetables. It found that no program of toys and other "enrichment" was being offered to primates, in violation of federal law. It found that Edith was suffering from skin abrasions and hair loss and had not been seen by a veterinarian. The agency issued a formal warning.

But in a March 25 e-mail to PETA, the agency said Amarillo made "significant and continuing improvement," including hiring a veterinarian, serving better food and providing "enrichment" to pass the time for the animals.

Darby Holladay, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said the refuge was now in "full compliance" with federal animal protection laws.

Charles Azzopardi, owner of the Amarillo Wildlife Refuge, said the PETA investigator orchestrated its photos and videos. He said she moved garbage into the pictures and created maggots to photograph by taking pieces of meat and leaving them in the sun.

"All they're looking for is publicity for them to make money," he said. "They're not for the animals. The animals here, they're happy."

And he said he would never let Edith go because she's too old to move and could be hurt by other chimps if they didn't know her.

"They're not going to get Edith," he said. "They're going to have to shoot me down. She's the oldest chimp. She's happy here. If you move Edith from here with other chimps, they're going to beat her up, and she's going to die. I'll never let her go."

Sun-Sentinel broadcast reporter Raelin Storey contributed to this report.

David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler AT sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4535.

Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel


  • [monkeywire] Feds, activists question treatment of ex-Metrozoo chimp at Texas zoo, Josh Greenman, 05/27/2004

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