Lebanon’s ‘Last Known’ Chimp Now Free from Captivity!

A life of captivity and isolation is fit for no animal, yet chimpanzee Charlie has been forced to live in these conditions day in and day out for the last nine years of his life.

From the start, Charlie’s story has been marked by sadness and pain. He was taken from his wild home in Africa and smuggled into Lebanon in 2005, where he ended up in a pet shop.

Jason Mier, executive director of Animals Lebanon, believes that Charlie “most certainly saw his mother shot and killed,” as is often the case with smuggled baby animals.

Eventually, Charlie found his way to Animal City Zoo along the Nahr al-Kalb river, where he has spent the majority of his life alone.

In 2006, the Ministry of Agriculture declared that Charlie “was smuggled into Lebanon” and that no permits were issued for his importation.

Unfortunately, a February 2006 confiscation failed as the zoo “removed Charlie the day before the confiscation was to take place,” according to Animals Lebanon via The Daily Star.

Since 2006, Animals Lebanon has been fighting to free Charlie and in October 2013 the court case was restarted. The court again ruled in the organization’s favor on March 27, 2014 and found “the champanzee’s smuggler and owner equally liable to pay penalties and [ordered] them to forfeit ownership of the animal,” The Daily Star reports.

On April 5, 2014, Animals Lebanon entered the zoo’s grounds and finally rescued Charlie from his cage! Woohoo!

Charlie’s veterinarian, Dr. Rosa Garriga, found him to be rather small for his age and discovered that he suffers from muscle atrophy in his right leg. Her report stated that his condition “has probably existed for several years and there is no doubt this has caused significant ongoing pain and discomfort.”

Thankfully, Charlie will soon be receiving the medical attention, love and care he has lacked for so long. Animals Lebanon will be moving him to a purpose-build enclosure where he will be provided with a “proper diet and schedule of daily enrichment” until he finds a permanent home at a sanctuary.

“He has suffered enough and we will spare no expense to make his life as good as possible, and get Charlie to a sanctuary and with other chimpanzees as quickly as we can,” said Meir.

What a wonderful future Charlie now has thanks to the kind and dedicated hearts of animal lovers!

Image source: Animals Lebanon / Facebook