PETA Backs the Cincinnati Zoo’s Lawsuit Over Lonely Gorilla

For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

The Cincinnati Zoo has just filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in San Francisco seeking to compel the Gorilla Foundation in California to release the gorilla Ndume—who has had no companion of his own species since Koko passed away months ago—so that he can have a better life. The Gorilla Foundation contractually agreed to allow him to be transferred once Koko passed away but is now refusing to return him to the Cincinnati Zoo, where he was born and where he could live in a multigenerational group.

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel and Vice President of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders regarding the lawsuit:

Gorillas’ lives revolve around their families, yet the Gorilla Foundation is keeping Ndume in solitary confinement. He deserves to have the opportunity to thrive and socialize with other gorillas, and PETA supports the Cincinnati Zoo’s efforts to remove him from the Gorilla Foundation’s tumbledown facility, with its history of failures in both cleaning and veterinary care.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” and we’ve posted additional information about Ndume here.