The Israel Primate Sanctuary is the designated site for rehabilitation and re-homing of rescued primates in Israel. Over the past 20 years, the Sanctuary has provided refuge and high-quality care for hundreds of rescued monkeys. This project will allow the construction of a naturalized enclosure for a population of rescued vervets. These animals have completed the initial rehabilitation phase at the Sanctuary and are now ready to begin life anew in an open enclosure in the Sanctuary's Park.
The rescued monkeys that arrive at the Israel Primate Sanctuary have endured traumas of many kinds. Removed from their homes and native countries, these animals have often been isolated in small, locked cages, with poor diets, inadequate/absent medical care and no contact with others of their kind. These monkeys need a specialized program which includes professional care and socialization training in order for them to successfully re-assimilate with others of their species.
Rehabilitation is the first step for these animals' recovery. This is undertaken by the Sanctuary's trained staff of medical and behavioral specialists in a therapeutic, non-public area of the Sanctuary. This Project provides funds for the construction of a naturalized, open enclosure for a population of vervets that are now ready to move from rehab to the Sanctuary's Nature Park. This move will help further their development and free up rehabilitation space for new arrivals to the Sanctuary.
The long-term benefits of this Project are three-fold. Life in an open enclosure with other primates will provide the vervets with a quality of life that they have never before experienced. Their relocation will provide space for additional rescued monkeys. And, in addition, the new enclosure's location in the Sanctuary's public-access Park will provide Sanctuary visitors with an education about this species, as well as enhanced public awareness about the impact of the illegal pet trade.
