This week premiers the much-anticipated four-part docuseries by Tiger King director Eric Goode entitled Chimp Crazy on HBO. The series follows Tonia Haddix, an exotic animal owner and broker, as she contentiously disputes primate ownership with animal advocates including PETA.

FOUR PAWS’ main criticism of Tiger King was that the show itself exploited wild animals for entertainment and profit. The popular show missed a massive opportunity to discuss the need for stronger regulations regarding ownership of wild exotic animals and the harmful consequences of allowing their contact with the public. While Chimp Crazy appears to illuminate the cruelty of the exotic animal trade, FOUR PAWS aims to make it clear that wild animals should never be used and exploited for entertainment or profit.

Nonhuman primates - including chimpanzees, gorillas, lemurs, orangutans, etc. – are highly intelligent and social creatures that have complex physical, emotional, and behavioral needs. Private ownership with humans cannot provide a life that fulfills these needs.

Dr. Signe Preuschoft, Primatologist at FOUR PAWS, explained “I am faced with orangutans who were kept as pets. They experienced the separation from their mother and suffer tremendously from this loss. Private ownership can never meet the needs of our nonhuman relatives.” Dr. Preuschoft founded the Orangutan FOREST SCHOOL – conducted by FOUR PAWS’ partner Yayasan Jejak Pulang in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.

Back in the U.S., FOUR PAWS supports the U.S. Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R.8164): A bipartisan bill that if passed would amend the U.S. Lacey Act to prohibit the private ownership of nonhuman primates (exempting zoos, research labs, sanctuaries, and universities). Current primate owners are allowed to keep their animals, but not breed them, and must simply register them. The bill, like the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed in 2022, would protect both primates AND the public.

Everyone can make a difference in the life of nonhuman primates in captivity by avoiding roadside attractions and substandard zoos, and any facility that allows close human contact – such as feeding, touching, hugging, or taking photos with primates or other wild animals. While traveling, remember to #TravelKind and, when possible, enjoy animals in their natural habit rather than in captivity.