Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary
This fabulous organisation is located in the lovely Brecon Beacons National Park area of South Wales and provides a home for many types of unwanted and mistreated animals, especially primates such as chimpanzees, baboons, mandrils, spider monkeys, vervets, capuchins, mangebeys and marmosets.
Having read some of the stories about the animals they have rescued from horrific conditions, we feel honoured and pleased to support them as our 'animal focused' charity partner of the year.
We were passed the name of this charity by one of our customers who regularly visits the sanctuary and recommended them based on the wonderful ethics they have and the way that they support the most vulnerable animals. Animals who have been neglected, used in laboratories or unwanted by zoo's, deprived and mistreated.
Pete, our customer who put us in touch with The Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary (WAMS) and who visits the sanctuary regularly says "without exception all the rescues would have been euthanised had WAMS not stepped in to help. At WAMS these rescues are offered a forever home with a lifetime of care where they will live with the love and dignity they deserve. The animals are not just exhibits, they are family to husand and wife Jan and Graham. Founded 20 years ago, they are a 100% not for profit organisation, receive no government funding and rely entirely on public donations"
Their love of animals also means that they also take in other animals in need of help such as wolf dogs, horses, donkeys, cattle, pigs and others. When we spoke to them, they were clear that the animals would eat before they did if it came to it and that all the species in the sanctuary were part of a family that had a home for life which was simply focused on being a stress free and happy as possible.
The Monkeys enjoy pasta bakes most days (along side a lot of fruit and vegetables to keep them healthy of course!) and the keepers found out that they liked pasta when they rescued a monkey from the pet trade that only ate pasta! They have over 100 monkeys. So for example, £5 would buy a 5kg bag of dried pasta shapes from Tesco, £10 would buy us something like a big bucket and a shovel, £20 could buy us horse feed for the 30 horses they have. The Sanctuary also has a strict 'no breeding' rule in place as the requirement for an organisation such as their own means that there are already too many unwanted animals.
Bili's Story
Bili is just one of the many animals at WAMS with a story to tell. He is a Western Chimpanzee who was probably caught in the wild as nothing is known (or forthcoming) about his early years. We have been told that he spent 15 years in a circus before moving to Stara Zagora Zoo in Bulgaria. Here he spent another 15 years alone in a very small enclosure.
We first found out about Bili in December 2010 when we were approached by a member of the Ministry to urgently give Bili a home. This urgency was not reflected in the behaviour of the Ministry in Bulgaria, Vier Photon (Four Paws) and another Sanctuary who all conspired to delay Bili’s rescue until September 2011. Thanks to our supporters money was quickly raised for Bili’s transport (Bulgaria had no money in their budget), within a couple of weeks of the appeal going out. Then came the delay until finally after we had given up hope a line of communication opened and to cut a long story short Bili was on his way, arriving at 1.30.a.m. on 23rd September 2011.
Bili was reintegrated into groups slowly by the sanctuary but struggled after spending 30 years in solitary confinement. He is now enjoying a good range of food, has a comfy bed and even has chimpanzee friends!
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Most of the donations come from people visiting the sanctuary where you can say hello to the animals, be a keeper for the day or sponsor an animal. We think that they would be great gift for an animal loving friend or family member!
Animal Adoptions: http://www.ape-monkey-rescue.org.uk/adoptions.html
Be a Keeper for the day: http://www.ape-monkey-rescue.org.uk/keeper.html
If you would like to donate to The Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary, click here.