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As It Happens

Advocates want pop-drinking, cigarette-smoking chimp moved to sanctuary

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. in an attempt to get Candy the chimp moved from a Baton Rouge amusement park to a wildlife refuge.
CBC Radio ·
Candy the chimpanzee sits in her cage at an amusement park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Animal Legal Defense Fund)
As It Happens6:25Animal advocates want pop drinking, cigarette smoking chimp moved to wildlife sanctuary

According to animal welfare advocates, it's no life for a chimpanzee. For years, Candy the chimp has lived alone at an amusement park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Carter Dillard is a lawyer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. He tells As It Happens host Carol Off:

"She lives in solitary confinement in a barren cage where she is taunted by visitors who throw her lit cigarettes and she's given Coca-Cola to drink."

According to a lawyer for the amusement park, there was an attempt to move Candy to a zoo, but she was not able to adjust to the new life. 

Dillard disputes that claim. "We have experts that are going to testify otherwise," he says. 

The group has filed a lawsuit under a new federal rule that requires chimps in captivity to be afforded the same protections given to wild chimps.

"It's simply trying to improve her conditions and treat her as a member of an endangered population that deserves autonomy," says Dillard.  

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