Chimpanzees share approximately 98.7% of their DNA with humans and have cognitive and emotional complexity that demands the highest welfare standards in captive settings.
Chimpanzees have emotional and cognitive lives that make inadequate captive care particularly harmful. Evidence of long-term psychological trauma from poor early social environments, research use, and entertainment industry exposure is well-documented. Welfare-centred chimpanzee management requires large, complex social groups with appropriate age and sex composition; extensive foraging and cognitive enrichment; large outdoor spaces; and lifelong, stable social bonds. The transition from research facilities to sanctuary care is a welfare emergency that deserves public awareness and funding.