OK, so, this is a pretty horrific story, but it has a happy ending. After a 14-year battle, these Chimpanzees have been set free from captivity after being taken from their mothers shortly after their births. They’d been kept in a research facility in Austria, undergone medical testing, been injected with HIV and hepatitis. But, at least they’re happy now.
The video isn’t in English, but it’s clear that the chimps are pretty stoked with seeing the outside world for the first time.
A couple of them even appear to laugh after sharing a hug.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCuxabHGe5Q
The testing actually ended in 1997 when the pharmaceutical company behind the research was sold and the chimpanzees were moved to a farm.
The problem was that the chimps were so traumatised from their ordeal that readjustment took keepers more than a decade.
Careful techniques and lots of love have eventually made them comfortable with tackling life on the outside.
Keeper Renate Foidl:
The chimps are incredibly happy. This is amazing, I have been waiting for this moment for so long.
The chimps are now at the Gut Aiderbichl Animal Sanctuary, near Salzburg, Austria.
[Source: DailyMail]
