However, due to a major chimpanzee breeding program and lessening research needs, there is now a large surplus. At least 600 could be retired . At best, the research chimpanzees are housed in small social groups. At worst, they live along in small cages. In addition to laboratory chimps there are many abandoned pets and entertainers who are unwanted and still have long lives ahead of them.
People have the misconception that chimpanzees make great pets.
They are cute and especially adorable as infants. But unlike even the most difficult human teenager, chimpanzees are wild animals with super-human strength and determination. They can and will bite and display causing unbelievable damage with a 200 pound body packing 7 times the strength of a man of equal weight. It is no small wonder that by adolescence, these chimpanzees end up alone, locked behind steel doors. Not only are they confined but all the comforts of family life disappear as well.