I really hope to see the end of research on captive primates in my lifetime. While many countries have banned the practice or imposed heavy restrictions, there are still many apes and chimpanzees who haven’t yet been “retired” to sanctuaries.
It’s happening, but not as quickly as we might hope.
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Even many people who aren’t against animal research in general see the use of primates as different. They’re close enough to humans to make the issues far more apparent.
And stories like that of Foxie, a former lab chimp, show why.
Foxie was born in 1976 and was used in hepatitis vaccine research. She also gave birth to four babies during her time as a breeder in the biomedical research industry. All of her babies were quickly taken away from her.
It wasn’t until 2008 that Foxie was allowed to retire to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
The sanctuary was warned that she was untrustworthy and might get rough if people got too close to her.
Once taken away from the lab, Foxie was wary of people and other chimps, and wouldn’t play with any of the many toys the sanctuary provided.
At least, until she came across a pink-haired troll doll.
“Sometimes she carries the dolls on her back like a chimpanzee mom would do with an infant,” Diana Goodrich told The Dodo , “So we’ll just see a hint of troll hair on Foxie’s back when she’s walking around.”
Supporters of the sanctuary began sending more dolls for Foxie to care for.
And since her story went viral, Foxie’s doll collection now numbers in the hundreds.
She’s even developed a fondness for Dora the Explorer and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
But trolls remain her favorite.
In 2019, Foxie turned 43, which means she’s outlived the median life expectancy of chimps in captivity. Good for her!
Be sure to watch the video to see how excited she is to receive new dolls.
