Circus Belly is a German Circus, which has come under fire for keeping Robby as a performing chimp. They will shortly lose Robby to a rehabilitation center.
The Celle district veterinary officials have determined that Robby must be sent into a place where he can be cared for. This follows petitions run through Facebook and other sites. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have championed the campaign since 2012. Nearly 80,000 people signed the petition that will lead to Robby's release from the circus before the end of the year.
PETA asked for Robby’s release be fast-tracked and requested that he should be immediately released into the care of the AAP Foundation, where he can live out his days as a chimpanzee.
The AAP sanctuary which is based in Europe has an excellent reputation for caring and rehabilitating Animals that have been taken out of their natural environment. Some of their residents include apes that were used in laboratories and are HIV infected.
These apes are housed in a special complex where they can live out their days without fear. Other animals have been rescued from owners who liked the idea of having exotic pets, and there are others like Robby who have been taken in from circuses.
There is even an AAP retirement home for apes in Spain, where rescued apes stay at the Primadomu Life Time Care Center.
The owners of the Belly Circus say that they are appalled at the order to send Robby away as they feel he is part of the family. For Robby, he really had no choice but to become a member of the human family around him, as he had been humanized. He had no other chimps to share his life and led a boring and confined existence in his circus accommodations.
Chimpanzees may be our closest relatives, but this does not make them human, and it certainly does not make them suitable pets.
The use of chimpanzees in the entertainment industry is a shameful thing that must be stopped. It is not the eighteen hundreds when the parading of dancing bears, lunatics and apes around the streets of Europe was acceptable. We are no longer ignorant peoples who flock to public executions and whippings.
There are still countries where such cruel animal practices continue, but for it to continue in an advanced nation such as Germany is shocking. Robby will lead a far better life and his release proves yet again the power for change that can come about through social media.