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Friday, January 6, 2017

The First Snow of 2017

The first snow of 2017 fell yesterday and blanketed our world in a thin white cover. It wasn't really all that much snow, but it was white and fresh and different.

Bow looking out at the snow in the outer pen
We had had flowers blooming as late as December, so the fresh fallen snow was not unwelcome.


No, this climate is not entirely hospitable to chimpanzees in their natural condition, but neither is it to humans. That's why if someone is homeless. he would do well to move further south.


Bow is not homeless. He has a home and a family, and in the cold of winter he stays indoors and is warm and snug and cared for.


We spent a lot of time grooming each other yesterday. Somebody in the comments to one of my videos said it was too bad Bow could not go outside. But I think there's a different way to look at it: it's lucky that Bow doesn't have to go outside, if he doesn't want to. It's good that he has the indoors option.



Bow does not lack for companionship. There is Lawrence who sits with him if I have to go out. And there is his friend who brings the bananas. Last week, Lawrence asked Bow what his friend's name is who brings him bananas and grapefruit and pickle ice, and Bow spelled out "G-I-R-L". He was quite insistent. Twice Lawrence asked him, and twice Bow spelled out  "G-I-R-L". But actually, her name is Charla.

Bow and Charla
No, things are not ideal in this state for chimpanzees, but it is probably one of the best states in the union in terms of legislation, because free chimpanzees from other states have been flocking here, as the laws have made it impossible for them to live anywhere else. And yet the long arm of the Federal government is closing in on us, and already many of Bow's contemporaries are in trouble with the law.

In case you are interested, this is what has been happening lately to chimpanzees in Missouri:

http://courthousenews.com/missouri-primate-foundation-tells-peta-to-back-off/

There are legal consequences to the decision by US Fish & Wildlife to label domesticated chimpanzees in the United States as endangered wildlife. One of the most convoluted is that owning them is now considered a "take" that prevents them from breeding, and PETA is trying to force breeders to send their chimpanzees to sanctuaries where they will never be allowed to breed, and all in the name of conservation.

Meanwhile, in our snowy, quiet world, all is still calm, and we still hope. Eternal Hope is the title of the instrumental music by Kevin Macleod that I chose for the video of our first snowy day of the year.


Yes, we still hope, And if you still hope along with us, please vote us up and speak up for us wherever you can. Let the world know that you understand what we are up against, and that you sympathize and care. Sometimes that's all it takes.

4 comments:

  1. I hope people realize that most chimpanzee orders are responsible, and legislators stop wasting money to pass legislation to make unnecessary laws.

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    1. What's ironic in this case, Julia, is that the legislators are not the ones who caused the current problem. US Fish & Wildlife went outside the jurisdiction of the law that gives them their power and declared domestic chimpanzees to be wildlife in America, contrary to the intent of Congress to help conserve wild animals in the US who are native here. So the law specifically says not to bother wild animals and make it hard for them to breed, if they are endangered. That was Congress's intent. But now PETA, using the designation of chimpanzees as endangered wildlife, is asking that chimpanzees owned by a breeder be sent to a sanctuary where they will never be allowed to breed. It's so convoluted and it makes no sense!

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    2. Considering PETA euthanizes animals, and they are againt trap neuter release, which some people might not like, but private citizens do because they want to feed existing cat populations and mitigate over population, I am not their fan. Also, PETA is very confrontational, and it seems part of the hardcore vegans who like to tell everyone how to live. A lot of vegans are beginning to speak out against this now. There is a group of vegans targeting a woman who likes to eat raw vegan food, but she is not vegan enough for them because she happened to wear a pair of leather shoes someone friend gave her. Like who cares. It is lobby and cult like mentalities that are really beginning to control others, and now people are speaking out.

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    3. Yes, I do think most people can see that PETA is not trying to help anyone.

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