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When Bow the chimpanzee was only 1 month old, he was taken from his mom and forced to live with Aya Katz in Missouri. 😢 Katz has kept Bow in her home and in an attached outdoor pen all alone for his entire life. He’s never known what it means to be a male chimpanzee—one who bonds with his mom for life, moves up the ranks in a complex political hierarchy, and protects a group with dozens of members alongside his brothers, uncles, and cousins.
Chimpanzees are super-social and can suffer from severe loneliness and psychological distress when they’re kept isolated from others of their own kind. But they’re also super-resilient, and many chimpanzees who used to be privately owned and isolated like Bow have thrived in accredited sanctuaries, where they have the opportunity to choose their crew. 😲
Not only does Katz force Bow to live in a barren cage with no other chimpanzee companionship, she also knowingly defies federal law. Even though the Animal Welfare Act requires that online exhibitors keep a federal license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Katz has refused to get a license or let federal authorities inspect Bow and the conditions she keeps him in. 😒
Please urge Katz to do what’s best for Bow and work with the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance to find an accredited sanctuary for him. There, he could get the opportunity to socialize with other chimpanzees, run and play in a naturalistic habitat, and have the freedom to simply be a chimpanzee—not a prop for Katz to exploit for $$$.