Quoted in World Animal News

 The fundraiser I've been leading to rehome chimpanzees left at a closed Los Angeles refuge continues to gain attention. There are some really, REALLY exciting things in the works... more to come on that later. For now, I'm happy to have been interviewed by World Animal News.

Their new article, "WAN Exclusive: Urgent Help Needed To Rehome 32 Chimps From The Wildlife Waystation To Sanctuaries In The U.S." used some great photos and really drove home the urgency of this collaborative effort. Thanks to Katie Cleary and her team for publishing it!

Read the full article here.

Press conference, film & video coverage in LA Times, CBS, FOX, and more

In August 2019, a Los Angeles animal refuge named Wildlife Waystation abruptly closed. Though it was never a member of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA, of which I serve as Program Director), our job is to help all captive primates reach sanctuary retirement whenever possible. NAPSA jumped into action by establishing a network of experts to guide the California Department of Fish & Wildlife as they took over operations at the Waystation and set to work figuring out how to rehome the many hundreds of exotic animals in residence. NAPSA oversaw the rehoming efforts for the 19 monkeys, and we were happy to see nine chimpanzees move to better homes at facilities experienced in chimpanzee care so far... But 32 chimps remain.

We established a fundraiser because though four sanctuaries have been identified who could take these 32 chimps (altogether), they need to build or expand enclosures to responsibly make room for new chimps, and they need time to do so. Full information on the campaign can be found here. It's been a lot of work, and feels overwhelming at times, but  NAPSA was identified as one of the few options for leading this effort, so I am proud to do so.

I helped found World Chimpanzee Day two years ago, and so as we were planning for a press conference to introduce the media to the fundraiser, it made perfect sense to hold the event on World Chimpanzee Day, July 14.

The event attracted nine TV and newspaper outlets, and additional interviews were conducted with radio stations afterwards. The resulting coverage is still trickling in, but I was very pleased to see a long article in the LA Times,

another good article in the LA Daily News, 

a segment on Fox LA,

and another segment on CBS Los Angeles.

Donations have started to come more quickly as a result, which is exciting to see! 

Guest on Prime Mates podcast - 5th time

Part B of my Q&A on Prime Mates podcast has been released. This is the last real episode of the show, before their finale live event and then a hiatus of indeterminate length.

Host Matt Stewart said that I was one of the most requested returning guests, which was a thrill to hear! He also asked that I appear on some of his other projects, such as other podcasts and a YouTube interview show. I would be happy to do any of them, and I hope I get the chance to try them out.

I'm sad that the podcast is taking a break - may this not be permanent!

Click here to listen.

Guest on Prime Mates podcast - 4th time

This week I returned as a guest on Prime Mates podcast. There was no theme this time, because it was a Q&A session with questions submitted by listeners.

There were so many questions, actually, that we didn't get through them all! I will be returning next week for part two of this episode.

I have so much fun doing these podcasts, so I am really pleased to return for more questions. I hope they go easy on me!

Click here to listen.

Quoted in New York Times

As I type, the Coronavirus is in the middle of changing the world. It seems like the details shift daily, and every industry and way of life have been affected.

For primate sanctuaries, the threats to their financial stability and to their workforce are compounded by the possibility that the virus could jump the species barrier and infect other primate species. It is currently assumed that chimpanzees could contract the virus, though there have not yet been documented cases of it. There have been cases of rhesus macaques contracting Coronavirus, however, which does not bode well for all the hundreds of species currently in the care of primate sanctuaries.

Accordingly, the sanctuaries are ramping up their safety precautions. I was happy to talk to the New York Times about how this is functioning because it is an incredibly important topic right now, and not something that the average person might consider. Read the article here.

Quoted in Sentient Media

A new article co-authored by renowned author and animal sentience expert Dr. Barbara J. King focused on the complex harms of keeping primate as "pets." I was happy to speak with her while she was researching for the article, and am pleased that she quoted me in the finished product:

It's pretty impossible for the nation's primate sanctuaries to understand the need for primate retirement when so many privately owned primates are living under the radar. It's a real problem that doesn't have any solutions, short of a federal ban on private ownership of primates. Perhaps one day... but until then, our work continues. 

Guest on Prime Mates podcast - again!

Some of the more amusing interviews I've had are those that have taken place on Prime Mates podcast. I think it's partly due to the sharp wit of its host (Australian comedian Matt Stewart) - which can be tricky to keep up with - and partly because I always love an excuse to chat about primates, and maybe it's also the thrill of doing a recorded interview with someone who is around the world and literally in a different day than I am. Whatever the reason, it's fun, and so I'm always glad to return as a guest on the show.

This most recent episode centers on primates that have escaped or been captured loose. I talk about Daisy the infant capuchin who was found running around on an ambulance in downtown Chicago, chimpanzees Chipper and Joe Bananas who escaped their roadside zoo, got drunk on honey and broke a farmer's tractor, and more. You'll have to listen to hear the rest! I guarantee a few laughs will result.

Click here to listen.