Pepper, 1970-2012

Since its establishment in 1997, the Fauna Foundation has fought to end chimpanzee research and provided sanctuary to ex-research chimps. Founder Gloria Grow tells us about the early years of the sanctuary, from her first meeting with some of the chimps at a lab in New York, to her last moments with her beloved Pepper who passed away this year.

With the insight that she’s gained from years of daily interaction with the Fauna chimps, Gloria shares stories that are at once amazing and heartbreaking — from an unforgettable meeting between two elder chimps and a heartbroken young orphan named Toby, to Tom’s jaw-dropping experiment with a tub of black paint. Gloria also discusses the importance of honesty in the relationships between traumatized chimps and their caregivers, and the recent controversy over whether the U.S. government’s decision to retire 100 ex-research chimps to a lab rather than a sanctuary contravenes the intentions of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act (CHIMP Act) of 2000.

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