Primate sanctuaries provide refuge for primates rescued from laboratories, the pet trade, and habitat loss, raising unique welfare and ethical challenges.
Primate sanctuaries face immense welfare responsibility: their residents are cognitively complex animals with deep social needs, trauma histories, and long lifespans. Successful sanctuary care requires social grouping, species-appropriate enrichment, and veterinary expertise. Funding is perpetually precarious — sanctuaries rarely generate revenue proportional to their care costs. The welfare case for better funding and oversight of primate sanctuaries is compelling given what these animals have endured.