When news of the arrival of the new virus broke, we asked ourselves one question: can non-human primates be infected? The answer was not known at that time but given the seriousness of the situation already seen in Italy, we decided to cancel all activities and confine part of the team of caretakers to the same sanctuary’s facilities to minimize the risk of transmission.
And as the weeks passed, scientists warned of the great risk that this coronavirus poses to the survival of the great apes, already in danger of extinction. The news was terrible. And then we knew that we had made the best possible decision because the keepers and primates have been safe.
The fact that due to human greed and the mistreatment to which we subject the planet, this virus has spread practically all over the world, should open the eyes of the entire population. We should not ignore scientists and environmental educators who have been warning for years that the relationship with Nature must change and governments must align themselves with management that respects life on Earth. That is why we joined the request of Eurogroup for Animals to the European Parliament so that serious measures are taken and there is a real and positive change in the “new normality”.
Acknowledgements:
First of all, we would like to thank the whole team for their efforts, from the colleagues who have been in charge of the primates’ safety and the sanctuary, to the rest of the staff who have continued working from home to keep the project alive.
And of course to the partners, sponsors and collaborators, who make all this possible with their generosity.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
