The Missouri Primate Foundation, part of the home of a woman named Connie Casey, was a longtime PETA priority. But now, the Festus, Missouri, facility’s saga has reached its turning point and—spoiler alert—the protagonists have closed the book on the former breeding compound with a major victory: Earlier this week, PETA rescued all the chimpanzees remaining there.

As a result of a court order, we removed all six chimpanzees held at the facility, and they now live at the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries–accredited Center for Great Apes. There, they will be acclimated to a beautiful outdoor habitat and provided with nutritious food, expert care, and the opportunity to engage in natural chimpanzee types of behavior. They’ll never again be exploited in any way.

Left: Chimpanzee Lisa Marie was born at the former breeding hellhole known as the Missouri Primate Foundation before she was sold to a private owner as a “pet” and forced to live in a basement in Chicago. | Right: Here’s Lisa Marie after PETA helped rescue and transfer her to a lush, spacious sanctuary in 2015.

This rescue is the result of a consent agreement in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit filed by PETA and former Missouri Primate Foundation volunteer Angela Scott and heard by Judge Catherine D. Perry of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

PETA’s lawsuit alleged that the Missouri Primate Foundation—which bred chimpanzees for the entertainment industry and the exotic-pet trade—violated the ESA by housing the animals in inappropriate social groups; confining them to cramped, inadequate enclosures; and denying many of them the opportunity to engage in natural behavior, including interacting in large groups and engaging with a complex and varied habitat.

Connor at the Missouri Primate Foundation

Among those rescued are Connor (above), who was used for Hallmark greeting cards that are still sold today—and who reportedly bit his handler and tried to attack three other people on the set of his final shoot—as well as Tammy, whom an eyewitness saw screaming and frantically searching for the babies who had been taken from her to be sold. (One of Tammy’s daughters is believed to be Lisa Marie, pictured above, who was exploited in the entertainment industry and lived as a “pet” for years before PETA secured her a place at an accredited sanctuary in Florida.)

For the past three decades, The Center for Great Apes has given compassionate care to over 40 chimpanzees—five of whom were originally born at Casey’s Missouri breeding compound and then sold as “pets.” The six chimpanzees relocated this week to the sanctuary will meet their siblings for the first time, and Tammy will eventually meet one of her sons.

Pursuant to the consent agreement, Casey as well as Tonia Haddix, the chimpanzees’ most recent former owner, are both prohibited from ever again “owning and/or possessing” chimpanzees.

While we look forward to seeing these great apes receive the expert veterinary care that they were denied all their lives, we’re also still urging Hallmark Cards to do better for chimpanzees, too, by asking it to stop selling all greeting cards featuring clownish images of the vulnerable animals. Click below to join us:

Tell Hallmark Cards to Stop Exploiting Chimpanzees

The post BREAKING: PETA Rescues All Remaining Chimpanzees From Former Breeding Hellhole appeared first on PETA.

This post was originally published on Blog – PETA.