PETA Statement: Court Judgment Means New Life for Lone Gorilla

For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Foundation Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders in response to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the Cincinnati Zoo, which means that The Gorilla Foundation in Redwood City, California, must relinquish the lone gorilla Ndume:

PETA celebrates that this judgment represents a new life for Ndume the gorilla and is an official court declaration that an intelligent, sensitive gorilla is “not ordinary chattel.” We look to The Gorilla Foundation to follow the court’s order and cooperate with the Cincinnati Zoo without delay so that Ndume can finally be supported by expert care and have the essential companionship of his fellow gorillas.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—had filed an amicus brief in support of the Cincinnati Zoo’s lawsuit against The Gorilla Foundation. For more information about Ndume and PETA’s brief, please click here.