It breaks my heart to tell you that in the last year PASA member sanctuaries in West Africa have seen a shocking increase in the victims of wildlife trafficking that they rescue. Illegal pet smuggling has reached crisis proportions.
Your support makes it possible to fight back—together, we have saved Mussa, Tita, Nana, and countless other baby chimps from the wildlife trade.
These traumatized infants witness their families’ brutal murders at the hands of poachers. Then these highly intelligent animals are sold as “pets,” often for over $15,000. Some of these orphans spend days squeezed into the bottom of a box so they won’t be detected as they’re smuggled across continents. Then they spend the rest of their lives all alone in a cage.
PASA, our members in West Africa, and supporters like you are teaming up to end this crisis. In just a couple of months, we’ll host the groundbreaking Action for Chimpanzees conference where government officials, nonprofits, and private businesses will meet to fight to smuggle. We’ll use the conference as a springboard to forge new partnerships, strengthen law enforcement against wildlife trafficking, and educate tens of thousands of people.
We’ve made a commitment to save the chimps of West Africa – before it’s too late. But we can’t do it without you. Will you join us today to save western chimpanzees from extinction?
With your support, PASA member wildlife centers are working hard to end the illegal wildlife trade. You have made it possible to save Mussa and many more baby chimps from the poachers who viciously murdered their mothers. But western chimpanzee trafficking is escalating—and we can’t stop it without your help.
Join the growing movement to stop wildlife trafficking. Babies like Nana deserve to live safely in the wild. Chimpanzees in West Africa desperately need you – now more than ever before. I can't thank you enough for helping PASA to end poaching and keep chimps safe in the forest.
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Captain, a young chimp, has endured constant abuse and neglect in his short life. When he was an infant a poacher slaughtered his mother in front of his eyes, then captured and sold Captain as an illegal pet. He was alone, torn from the safety and care of his mother’s arms. Though he survived this horror, I can’t imagine he will ever forget the terror of his captivity.
The people who bought Captain put him a tiny cage and they didn’t let him out for the next 11 years. They didn’t care that he was utterly frightened and crushed by his isolation. Terrified to be alone, Captain would scream and cry.
Trapped in a small and painful cage, Captain longed for a chimpanzee family and freedom in the forest
PASA learned about Captain and contacted Parc de la Lékédi, a PASA member in Gabon. I’m so grateful that they quickly came to free him. People like you who are members of the PASA network around the world made his rescue possible.
The Long Road to Recovery
I’m happy to report that Captain is safe and receiving the medical treatment he desperately needs. But after spending 11 years in a cramped cage, it won’t be easy for him to adjust to walking, climbing trees, and even simply even being outdoors.
To recover from the brutality he endured, Captain urgently needs round the clock care and extensive medical treatment. Only you can make this possible.
Today, you can give Captain a better life.
As his physical and mental scars begin to heal, Parc de la Lékédi staff will help him learn to be a chimpanzee in sprawling forest enclosures at the sanctuary. With your help, soon he will be able to join a chimp family.
This traumatized chimpanzee needs your support to make it through the coming days and his future will be full of possibilities. I can’t thank you enough for making his rescue and recovery possible.
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This is one of the most important reports PASA has ever written. We need to tell you about a vicious new crisis brewing in West Africa.
You might remember Tita, a baby chimpanzee who was rescued from smugglers. Now she lives at the Chimpanzee Conservation Center, a PASA member in Guinea, and she’s full of joy.
But we’ll never be able to forget how Tita's older sister and mother were horrifically tortured and killed by smugglers.
In the last year, we’ve seen an alarming increase in the number of chimpanzees in West Africa like Tita and her family who are stolen from their families and sold to the highest bidder, often for over $15,000. Some of the chimps spend days squeezed into the bottom of a box so they won’t be detected as they’re smuggled to the Middle East or China, then they spend the rest of their lives all alone in a cage.
It is unthinkable that these extremely intelligent animals who are so similar to us are enduring this cruelty.
You have the power to do something amazing right now. Join the movement to stop chimpanzee trafficking. The chimps desperately need you -- now more than ever before.
PASA and the leaders of chimpanzee sanctuaries in West Africa have made ending this crisis a priority. As a first step, we are working together to organize a conference and invite government officials and nonprofits as well as private businesses that are linked to smuggling.We’ll use the conference as a springboard to forge new partnerships, strengthen law enforcement against wildlife trafficking, and educate tens of thousands of people.
Did you know that in the last 20 years, 80% of the western chimpanzee population has been wiped out?
We've made a commitment to save the chimps of West Africa -- before it's too late. But we can't do it without you. Will you join us by making a contribution today to save the chimps? Together, we can put a stop to the horrors of the illegal chimpanzee trade.
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Dear Friend of PASA,
Tragically, many people in Africa consider great apes a commodity and believe there will never be a shortage of animals to hunt. They fail to realize that they are driving these species to extinction and robbing Africa of its heritage.
I’m sorry to say that a lack of awareness in local communities and schools is a root cause of this crisis. PASA and our members are addressing this by providing urgently needed education to hundreds of thousands of people across Africa every year.
Your partnership with PASA makes it possible to bring new, exciting programs that teach conservation values to children all over Africa. We’re especially proud to collaborate with villages because their lives are intertwined with the forests that are essential primate habitat.
The Next Generation
We’re developing a new, full-color book about conservation role models who children across Africa can look up to! It will profile African heroes working for PASA member sanctuaries who are on the front lines of wildlife rescue and care. For many children, it will be the first book they have ever owned. When children see people who look like them and live in communities like theirs, they will be inspired to follow in their footsteps and protect primates living near their homes.
The new book costs only $5 per student. It teaches children to be proud of their heritage, feel empathy for primates near them, and protect wildlife. You can give the gift of positive role models, giving hope for the future of great apes and monkeys across Africa.
You can change communities from the ground up and instill a love for wildlife in hundreds of thousands of African families!
• Donate just $20 to give four children their first book!
• Your gift of $50 will enable a teacher to inspire a classroom of students.
• For $100, you will help to make the new book about African role models a reality.
With your support, we’re empowering the next generation of conservationists to take pride in their homes and protect primates. I can’t thank you enough for giving a future to great apes and monkeys.
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I am pleased to share that thanks to you, PASA’s support of the emergency rebuilding project at Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue in Cameroon has been a success. A severe storm caused several fallen trees to crush chimpanzee enclosure fencing at the wildlife center. Support from the PASA network made it possible to quickly rebuild the fence, and the center’s chimpanzees are once again able to enjoy their spacious enclosure safely.
You may remember Joanna and Rikita. These chimps have been kept as illegal pets in Angola in dark, filthy, cramped cages for over a decade. They have not felt the sun on their faces, climbed a tree, or had a breath of fresh air since they were two years old.
We just learned that export permits have been approved for Joanna and Rikita! If all goes according to plan, in a couple weeks they'll be in Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center, a PASA member in Congo. Thanks to the tireless efforts of PASA’s network and your support, these chimps will have rich, full lives in sunny forest enclosures and the time and space to recover from their abuse.
PASA members are increasingly recognized as leaders in conservation education. Permanently located in Africa for decades, often in critical wildlife habitat, with close relationships with local communities, they are ideally positioned to produce lasting behavior changes. PASA launched our Kids for Compassionate Conservation program, which includes the children’s book, “Je Protège les Chimpanzés” / “I Protect the Chimpanzees” in French and English and its accompanying innovative, interactive curriculum, in collaboration with our member centers Sanaga-Yong, Limbe Wildlife Centre, and Ape Action Africa. This entertaining and engaging book teaches African children about wildlife conservation issues that are relevant to their lives and inspires them to empathize with chimpanzees.
With your support, over the past year we have extended the program to the Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Gabon, in addition to expanding it to more children in Cameroon. HELP Congo in the Republic of Congo is using the book to teach and inspire children who live near wild chimpanzee habitat. Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Project is adapting the curriculum from Cameroon to the cultural context of Gabon. Chimpanzee Trust, which runs diverse awareness and education programs in chimpanzee habitat in western Uganda, is integrating the children’s book and the five-day curriculum into their other education work.
Now members of the PASA family, Diane Toomey and Debbie Meyer, are preparing to write a second book that will build on the pioneering, fun conservation education of the first book and its curriculum. They plan to inspire children across Africa by telling the stories of PASA wildlife center staff members. I can’t tell you how thrilled we are that youth across Africa will continue to be empowered with knowledge and appreciation for wildlife conservation, leading to greater shifts in behavior that reduce negative impacts on primates and their habitat.
Thank you immensely for your continuing support of great apes and monkeys in Africa. By partnering with PASA, you make it possible to continue providing outstanding care for primates rescued from the illegal wildlife trade and the bushmeat crisis. Is one of PASA’s programs a good fit for your priorities? Please let me know! We would be pleased to submit a grant to you at the next available opportunity. Together, we protect endangered primates and secure their future. I can't thank you enough for your dedication.
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