Primate Sanctuary Standards: Care for Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Orangutans

Great ape sanctuaries provide lifetime care for orphaned, confiscated, and retired research primates. Their welfare standards reflect the extraordinary social and cognitive needs of our closest relatives.

Key Facts

There are approximately 200+ chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan sanctuaries globally, caring for thousands of great apes orphaned by the bushmeat trade, pet trade, and habitat destruction
Great apes have the same cognitive complexity, emotional depth, and social needs as young children — sanctuary care must meet these needs across decades of lifetime care
The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) provides accreditation and standards for African primate sanctuaries, requiring: social group living, outdoor access, appropriate diet, veterinary care, and prohibition of public contact
Chimpanzees in accredited sanctuaries live in large social groups in multi-acre forested enclosures — conditions that allow natural social behavior including grooming, play, coalition formation, and conflict resolution
Reintroduction of sanctuary chimpanzees to wild populations is rarely feasible — most have been orphaned young, are habituated to humans, and lack survival skills; lifetime care is the welfare-appropriate outcome for most
Volunteer tourism at primate sanctuaries raises welfare concerns — direct contact between visitors and apes creates disease transmission risk and may habituate animals inappropriately
The cost of great ape sanctuary care is substantial — chimpanzees can live 50+ years in captivity, requiring decades of high-cost specialized care from sanctuaries that depend on sustained donor support

Welfare Considerations

Great ape sanctuary welfare represents the gold standard of captive primate care because it combines genuine commitment to meeting animals needs with appropriate understanding of their cognitive complexity. The best sanctuaries provide: large, forested outdoor spaces where natural behavior is possible; stable social groups with appropriate management of conflict; behavioral enrichment that challenges great ape intelligence; veterinary care from primate-specialist practitioners; and protection from human contact that maintains appropriate wildness even in habituated animals. The welfare challenge for sanctuaries is long-term financial sustainability — decades of care for animals that cannot be reintroduced requires sustained donor support that many sanctuaries struggle to maintain. Supporting established, accredited sanctuaries through sustained giving rather than one-time donations is the most welfare-impactful form of great ape sanctuary support.

What You Can Do

Support PASA-accredited African primate sanctuaries through sustained monthly giving — long-term financial support is more valuable than one-time donations for lifetime care facilities
Avoid visiting primate sanctuaries that offer direct contact or interaction with great apes — this compromises welfare regardless of claimed conservation justification
Share awareness of the bushmeat and pet trade drivers of orphaned great ape crises to build understanding of why sanctuary support is necessary
Support Ape Action Africa, Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, and Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in their long-term care programs
Advocate for stronger enforcement of wildlife trafficking laws that create the orphaned great ape crisis that sanctuaries must address