October 16, 2024 • 57 mins
EMERGENCY APPEAL: Help one amazing couple save more than 100 chimpanzees. Donate here: https://www.liberiachimpanzeerescue.org/donate.html Now watch as Jenny and Dr. Jim Desmond tell their harrowing story LIVE. In 2015, a group of animal protection groups asked the Desmonds to go to Liberia to save the lives of 66 chimpanzees who the NY Blood Center abandoned on six islands after using them in biomedical research. The Desmonds planned to spend about a month in Liberia putting systems in place and finding locals to take over their care, but they were unable to leave. Soon, government authorities began bringing them orphaned baby chimps who were victims of the bushmeat and exotic pet trades. No one else in Liberia had the experience or expertise to take care of them. It has been almost ten years, and the Desmonds now have about 115 chimps in their care and dozens of employees from neighboring villages. They've built the first phase of a permanent sanctuary in the forest. They are very eager to embark on phase 2, which would enable the adult chimps to get out of their enclosures and spend time in the forest, but they can’t even consider that because they don’t have enough money to cover their operating expenses. The fantastic three-part BBC series about the Desmonds’ conservation and rescue work, Baby Chimp Rescue, led to donations that enabled them to operate and complete phase 1, but that infusion has ended. Because they are in Liberia and do not have a network of supporters abroad, they are not raising the amount of money they need to function, much less build out the sanctuary and create an endowment. Says TheirTurn founder Donny Moss, Having visited them twice while working on the campaign to compel the NY Blood Center for pay for the care of the chimps they abandoned, I have seen the extraordinary work they do in the most challenging of environments. And, as one of the few Americans who has been there, I feel an obligation to help them and the chimps. Their charity, Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection, is registered in the U.S. VISIT: https://www.liberiachimpanzeerescue.org/ - PLEASE HELP! Now, UnchainedTV's Jane Velez-Mitchell interviews Jenny and Jim Desmond and TheirTurn's Donny Moss.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Main TV free streaming network, Jane Valez Mitchell.
You're about to hear a secret solution to
the problems that plague our world.
If you want to revolutionise your health, get
truly joyful and jump to the next phase
of human evolution, all it takes is one
simple choice.
Now, here's your host, Jane Valez Mitchell.
(00:21):
Welcome, we have breaking news for you.
This is an extraordinary story.
We are going live to Africa, where we
are going to meet the Desmonds, who are
taking care of more than a hundred chimps.
These chimps are orphaned from the bushmeat trade,
from the illegal wildlife trade.
(00:44):
Now, they were asked back in 2015 to
go to Liberia, which is in Africa, to
save the lives of 66 chimpanzees abandoned after
biomedical research.
Well, they got there, they thought they'd be
there for about a month, and guess what
happened?
People started coming to them with chimps that
(01:05):
they had rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
Look at these innocent beings, these angels.
Those are actually the chimps that were used
in biomedical research.
Here are some of the orphaned chimps.
And so they stayed, and now 10 years
later, they have about 115 chimps in their
care, and dozens of employees in neighbouring villages.
(01:30):
They need help.
Now, they were on a fantastic three-part
BBC series about their conservation and rescue work.
That brought them some donations, but those donations
have run out, and they keep getting inundated
with these innocent angels, and they need help.
They have to raise many thousands of dollars
(01:51):
before the end of the year.
These are hungry mouths to feed.
So without further ado, we're gonna go straight
out to Africa Live and talk to the
one and only Dr. Jim Desmond and Jenny
Desmond, who are there with a baby chimp.
(02:11):
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
This is Grace.
Can you hold her up a little bit?
Seeing her from over the banner, thank you.
Look at little Grace, look at that.
Go ahead.
Gracie.
She's tired.
It's her bedtime.
Yeah, yeah.
It's actually dark over here, believe it or
(02:32):
not.
Let's cut right to the chase.
We're gonna get your fascinating backstory in a
second, but what help do you need?
How many chimps are you taking care of,
and how can we help?
Well, we have 115 chimpanzees, and that we've
rescued over the last almost 10 years.
(02:54):
And we're sort of bursting at the seams.
We're sort of desperate for cash.
We built an entire sanctuary, thanks to a
lot of amazing help from donors.
But we need to expand the sanctuary, and
we also need help with operations.
So it costs about $40,000 a month
to run the sanctuary, so almost half a
(03:15):
million dollars a year.
And then to expand the sanctuary, it's gonna
take another probably $750,000.
So about a million dollars is what we
need that will help us get through the
next year, get 250 to the end of
the year, but then another 750 to build
the infrastructure we need.
(03:35):
So that will give the chimps, a lot
of the young ones get to go to
the forest every day, but some of our
older ones don't have access until we build
this next phase of the sanctuary.
Of infrastructure.
And I wanna put up immediately where you
can donate.
You can go to LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash
(03:56):
donate.
We're gonna put this up throughout the hour.
Look at that angel.
These are babies.
Tell me about this little girl, Grace.
So Grace has a great story, actually.
She's our little miracle baby.
I mean, we actually have quite a few
miracles here because as you know, all of
the chimps who arrived here, their mothers were
killed.
So they're all orphans and they've all witnessed
(04:17):
great trauma.
So they're all miracles that they recover and
decide to live and are happy.
But Grace, in particular, she arrived and half
of her was really quickly realised she was
very weak, but as she was getting stronger
mentally and physically, we realised her left side
was completely paralysed.
So what we think happened is she got
(04:38):
an injury when her mom was shot because
a lot of times they get shrapnel and
pellets in their bodies.
And then we think since she couldn't move,
the people who had her just put her
in a box and left her there for
probably months or a year or however long
she was there.
Yeah, I know.
And so by the time she got to
us, she was not only paralysed, but it's
like she had forgotten she even had an
(04:58):
arm or a leg.
And we just didn't know if she was
gonna, we didn't know if she'd survive, but
we figured once she was strong enough to
survive, then we really got to work thinking
about whether we could figure out how to,
sorry, to rehabilitate her.
And we started doing physical therapy.
Our team did amazing physical therapy.
We've been doing this now for about four
(05:20):
months or five months.
And she just the other day climbed up
a rope and into a tree.
So- Yeah, which is amazing.
We were- Everyone was cheering.
Everyone was cheering.
Our caregivers were singing and dancing.
So it was very exciting for everybody.
Right, Christine?
And Jenny, your mommy, right?
(05:40):
I mean, in their hearts and minds, you've
become mom.
Yeah, yeah.
Tell us about that.
We are, we have an amazing caregiving team,
but yeah, you know, in the wild, they
would be with their mom full time.
I mean, she would still be with her
mom, sleeping with their mom.
She'd still be nursing for another, probably three
years or more.
(06:02):
So when they come, you know, they've not
only seen their moms die, but they have
also really just, I mean, they want to
cling to somebody, but by the time we
get them, they've usually been abused and neglected
also because they're being sold into the pet
trade.
And it's just, you know, they need somebody
to really bring them back to life.
(06:23):
And that's what our caregiving team does.
So we're a mom and they're a mom.
And yeah, we're all moms together.
Now, let me ask you a question.
What about the Liberian government?
I mean, shouldn't the Liberian government come in
and say they're apparently bringing you a lot
of these animals.
Shouldn't they come in and say, hey, and
(06:44):
people are saying, please put up the address
to donate.
Yes, let me put that up right now
because that's the next step in doing this.
We need to get donations in.
And I don't want to say this to
say it, but to encourage others, I donated
$1,000 because- Yes, you did, thank
you.
The reason is I look at these faces
(07:06):
and, oh my God, if you weren't there
helping them, what would possibly happen to these
angels?
These are our closest relatives to Homo sapiens.
I mean, look at that face.
And you're taking care of 115.
It broke my heart, but also I was
(07:27):
like, I want to do everything I can
to help you.
So tell us again about what a donation
will do.
So, I mean, every donation helps, whether it's
$5 or $10 or $1,000.
(07:48):
Money goes a long way here in Liberia.
We employ a lot of people.
So it also, we work really closely with
the community.
We employ about 40 people, about almost 30
of them are caregivers.
And it really enriches their lives.
They're able to put their kids through school.
They're able to build houses.
And it rains a lot here in Liberia.
You know, Liberia is one of the poorest
(08:09):
countries in the world.
That's sort of why the government can't help
us.
I just, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted
you, I don't know if you'll be able
to see or hear this, but Gracie is
laughing a little bit here.
Yes, I see a question for about a
501c3.
And yes, we have a 501c3 in the
United States.
So if you donate through the website, we
(08:29):
are a tax exempt organisation.
So she's laughing.
She's laughing.
Oh my gosh.
This is like pre-bedtime tickles, just like
humans.
Oh my gosh.
Look at that angel.
Look at that angel.
And this couple is caring for 115 of
(08:49):
them in Liberia.
And it reminds me of that song, a
three hour tour.
You were there for 10 years taking care
of these babies and people bring you the
babies, right?
They, I mean.
Yes.
(09:09):
Including the government.
So we've progressed a lot here.
You mentioned the government.
So I wanted to address that, that Liberia
is one of the poorest countries.
It's an amazing country.
The people here are amazing, but you know,
the government just doesn't have money to spare,
but we do work really closely with the
government.
We've been able to change laws and policies.
We're protecting, we're establishing new protected areas for
(09:33):
Chimp Habitat.
We do a lot of community work and
engage with our communities.
And we employ a lot of people and
work with our team's amazing.
We do a tonne of awareness.
So we work really closely with the government,
but financially that burden is on us.
Like that will always be on us.
So we're looking at money that we need
to raise now.
Like Jimmy said, the 250,000 before the
(09:55):
end of the year, and then to finish
our next phase of infrastructure.
And then of course, eventually, you know, we
want to set up an endowment for these
guys.
So every dollar counts, whether it's to buy
some Seralac for little Gracie or some fruits
and vegetables or to pay a caregiver salary,
fuel to go get fruits and all our
(10:16):
supplies.
So everything, I mean, from a dollar to
a thousand dollars to $10,000, anything helps.
And just so to like lay out some
of the numbers so people understand, it costs
about $6,000 a month for fresh fruits
and vegetables.
Another $1,000 for, we give them like
a baby porridge.
Jenny just mentioned Seralac.
(10:36):
And we do that because there's not great,
it's not a wide variety of foods here
in Liberia.
There's really poor agricultural systems.
So we do that.
So they're getting, you know, fortified baby cereal
essentially.
So they're getting all their vitamins and minerals.
And then our salaries costs, it's about $15
,000 a month to employ everybody.
And then all the other things that go
(10:57):
along with it, such as keeping the vehicles
going and vehicle maintenance and keeping the site
going.
So site maintenance and things like that.
So we're just grateful for any donations that
people can give.
It really helps us take care of these
guys.
Our main goal is to, you know, our
main number one goal, our mission is to
(11:18):
get people, get people to stop hunting the
chimpanzees, stop wild chimpanzees from being killed.
So we stop receiving orphans.
But once you receive, once we get little
people like Grace, you know, then we have
to provide them a good life.
And what we try and do is give
them as close an approximation to their, what
(11:40):
life they would have in the wild.
So they're with other chimps, they're with surrogate
moms, human moms, and then they get to
spend their days in the forest.
I hate to cover up that baby to
say live from Africa and to say where
to donate, but that's, there we go.
(12:02):
Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org.
And I did it.
It takes a second.
They are a 501c3 in the United States.
So you do get the tax deduction and
everybody.
Okay, so we've got some pledges coming in.
Nilo Farr has pledged $250.
Thank you.
And Tiffany Baker, I believe said she's donating
(12:25):
now.
And Tiffany says, I'm donating now.
So I actually said that I was gonna
call Nilo Farr and let her weigh in
a little bit.
And so we're gonna see if she picks
up.
Nilo Farr has pledged to donate 250.
(12:46):
Nilo Farr, you are live.
First of all, thank you for your $250
pledge.
Go and go straight to Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org forward
slash donate and make that happen.
What are your thoughts and questions for the
Desmonds?
First, I wanna acknowledge Unchained TV and their
(13:07):
turn for shedding light on the story of
the rescued Liberian chimps.
These chimps are survivors of junk science and
it's shameful that decades of, after decades of
painful and invasive medical procedures, the New York
Blood Centre failed to honour its commitment.
Oh my God, wait a second.
I have to jump in.
(13:29):
We've got breaking news.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
I'm gonna cry.
Oh my God.
Me too.
That is amazing.
My husband and I will be donating $10
,000 through our charitable donation.
Oh my gosh, I'm gonna cry.
I really am gonna cry.
I'm gonna cry now.
That's amazing.
(13:49):
This is just so beautiful.
Thank you, Mick.
Thank you, Mick.
That is so beautiful.
Oh my God.
Honestly, it's so, so, I mean, thank you
for your generosity.
It means the world to us.
You've got everyone crying here.
And to all our babies that we take
(14:10):
care of.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
Maybe we can get them on the phone,
but I have to say, thank you, thank
you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank
you.
What can we say, Dion?
Thank you, God bless you for doing this.
This is unbelievable.
Really.
(14:31):
I mean, I have seen so many horrible
things.
When I saw these baby chips and I
saw their faces, it's, they're children.
They are children.
They are.
The idea that you're doing this with 115
children on your own.
(14:52):
I mean, I just said to myself, and
Donny, thank God for Donny calling me.
And I said, Donny, anything we can do,
we have to move into action to help
these people.
I mean- Thank you so much, Jane.
And Donny, I mean, Donny's been a life
-changing friend for us.
He's been out here twice, and we're trying
to get him to get on a plane
(15:12):
again and get out here now, because he
hasn't even seen our new site.
But yeah, Donny's been absolutely amazing.
And people like you, Jane.
I mean, we just, like you said, we're
out, we're here.
I mean, those kinds of donations, that donation
that Mick just made is unbelievable.
And you sharing our story.
I mean, we're just in the middle of
(15:33):
nowhere out here and getting us to be,
getting this kind of exposure is just invaluable
for us.
So we're so grateful.
Oh my gosh, wow.
Wow, wow.
And you know, what you just said about,
you know, that they're- Their children.
That they're children is, you know, the thing
about the chimps, and everyone knows that they're,
you know, genetically, you know, the most similar
(15:56):
species to humans.
But I think that when you spend time
with these guys is what you realise the
way they're most similar to us is emotionally.
And, you know, when you think of your
own self or your own internal self, you
know, we're really just all about our emotions.
It's how we feel all the time.
(16:18):
And the chimpanzees, you know, you think about
these little babies and they, you know, their
life has been torn apart.
I mean, they've seen their mother killed and
maybe other family members, and they've been injured.
And put in a terrible situation in captivity,
and they're scared and, you know, and then
they get here, and we do our best
(16:39):
to give them a good life, you know?
And the number one thing for chimps is
that being with other chimps.
So that once they do reach us, whatever
situation they've been in before, we give them
love and care, get them healthy.
But then they get to be with their
little, you know, their other chimpanzees.
And so that's gonna be the rest of
(17:00):
their life.
And that's the thing that's so great for
them.
But it's just, it's every time we get
a new chimpanzee, a new orphan, it's a
tragedy, you know?
And we're happy we rescued them, but it's
always, we always feel so angry and sad,
all mixed up.
And we just, I don't even know what
(17:22):
I'm saying.
I'm just talking.
I'm just so grateful that you have put
us, you know, give us this exposure.
And that donation, I missed the last name,
but Mick is- Mick Davoudian.
Mick Davoudian, who is a philanthropist who supports
Unchained TV.
And, you know, he and his husband, Joe
(17:45):
Kaufman, are two of the most generous people
I've ever met.
And so breaking news, if you're just joining
us, we're doing this story about this incredible
sanctuary in Liberia where these two individuals, husband
and wife team, Dr. Desmond is a veterinarian.
They have 115 chimps.
(18:07):
I got word from Donnie Moss, who we're
gonna talk to in a second, that they
were running out of money and they need
money.
They have 115 hungry mouths to feed and
that they were in a crisis and that
there's an emergency.
So we are talking to him.
And the breaking news is that Mick Davoudian
(18:28):
and his husband, Jeff Hoffman, just donated $10
,000.
Wow.
Thank you, Jeff.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh my God.
We are so grateful.
Thank you.
I wanna show the miracles.
Can you put the camera right up here?
I want you to see the miracles that
your donations are giving.
(18:49):
This is little Grace.
And I think, I don't know if you
heard before, but she came to us paralysed
and I'm gonna be quiet for a second
so you can hear her laugh.
That's her laughing from tickling.
Can you guys hear that?
I don't know if you can hear that.
Yes, we can.
It's adorable.
(19:10):
It's absolutely adorable.
So this is, I mean, your donations literally
work miracles.
This little girl watched her mom be killed
and was paralysed.
And she's now here with other chimps and
being loved and tickled and laughing.
And I mean, it's, you know, they're transformations
(19:31):
that we can't do without everybody's help.
So- Now, I just wanna go back
to Nilo Farr, who is from Texas, who
donated $250 and every donation- Bless the
new Nilo Farr.
Nilo Farr, continue.
We had some breaking news, we interrupted you,
but continue on your thoughts and your questions
for the Desmonds.
(19:51):
Well, because of my fellow countrymen's extremely generous
donation, I'm going to increase my pledge from
250 to 1,000.
Oh my God!
And I pledge to get it matched by
somebody else.
So thank you so much, Mick Davoudian, you're
(20:16):
amazing.
I mean, I just had chills running down
my spine when I heard that news.
Thank you.
Oh, everybody is saying Mick and Jeff, true
heroes.
And you too, Nilo Farr, true hero.
Please post your incredible donation on Facebook.
Wow, this is unbelievable.
(20:36):
So you just heard it here that Nilo
Farr is donating $1,000 and she says
she's going to match, she wants it matched.
So we've got, and of course you would
allow people to match it like 500 and
500, right?
I mean, yeah, so let's get this matched
(21:01):
because this is just super exciting and this
is what I live for.
Honestly, I live for this because we cover
so much depressing stuff, you know, what's happening
to animals.
And when we're able to be a force
for good, not just report the terrible things
that are happening, but help change something, when
(21:23):
you've saved these chimps, you've saved the world
for those chimps.
And people are saying, Nilo Farr, thank you.
The chimps, thank you.
So this is absolutely amazing.
Wow, I'm just super, super excited.
Me too.
Jane, I wanted to just say thank you.
I mean, the thing you said about we
(21:43):
hear so much bad news.
I mean, we're obviously animal rights people.
I've been an animal rights activist since I
was a kid, I think before my kids
barely speak and drove my family nuts.
But, you know, I get bombarded, not just
with chimp things all day, about everything all
the time, as you guys do as well.
And it's really just like getting these kinds
of you guys supporting us and these kinds
(22:06):
of donations.
I mean, it really makes us cry because
it's like you said, it's not only just
this, but just all the bad things that
are happening to our non-human relatives all
around the world.
And then you can see all this good
and you need that.
You need that inspiration.
And it's so, this gives us so much
hope here in the middle of nowhere that
(22:26):
we can make it out here.
Tom wants to know, did they mention chimps
involved in the pet trade?
Yes, Tom, those are all chimps.
Those are all chimps.
Why are they being killed?
So they're being killed for some people for
meat.
Sometimes it's just like people out hunting and
doing, you know, bushmeat hunting and they happen
(22:47):
to find chimps and kill them and sell
the meat.
But there is a demand for chimp meat,
sadly.
It's like an elitist kind of thing.
And then there's a pet trade.
Then these are all really large scale issues.
So we're not talking about subsistence eating.
You and I might not eat any animals,
but, you know, people in Liberia, I mean,
they eat animals, but they don't necessarily want
(23:08):
to eat chimps.
And subsistence farming, that's just, you know, in
the village, somebody going and killing some, you
know, some type of, say an antelope or
something, you know, well, I would prefer they
didn't at all.
They're killing one antelope and they're feeding the
village.
We're talking about these guys are in something
we would call, you know, international wildlife crime.
(23:30):
And we do a lot of work on
that as well.
So- Is this like rich people who
want a chimpanzee?
Yes, and there's a commercial bush meat trade.
There's a commercial pet trade.
So we're talking about a commercial trade that
is driving this.
We wouldn't have 115 chimps from this trade
if it were just a few people in
the, you know, local people hunting for food.
(23:52):
That's not what this is.
So we think, we know from other studies
that have been done.
I mean, what we think is happening in
Liberia is a lot of the, if someone
is out hunting, they're usually part of a,
they're part of, you know, an organised crime
network.
The hunters themselves are like, you know, the
little guy.
But if they happen to kill a chimpanzee
and it's a mom that has a baby,
(24:13):
then they'll try and get the baby out
across the border to Cote d'Ivoire.
And then from there, they might go-
They can go anywhere, Middle East to China.
I mean, I get stuff all the time.
People sending me pictures of someone, you know,
in a castle or a big wealthy mansion
with a baby tiger and a baby chimp.
And I've even seen recently a picture of
(24:34):
a guy with three baby chimps.
I could tell because I know chimps.
They were from three different regions.
There were three different subspecies.
And they were little babies, which means they
killed families in three different regions and took
those babies and got them all the way
to him so he can have a pet.
And this is why I hate it when
there are movies or commercials that feature chimps
(24:56):
or really any other animals.
There is always cruelty at the heart of
it.
Tiffany Brunelli, who did donate, says, please keep
the donations going.
Let's get the match.
So I want to go out now to
Donnie Moss.
You've waited patiently.
You were instrumental in bringing the Desmonds to
(25:17):
Africa initially.
Tell us the backstory about this.
The backstory is absolutely fascinating.
So in 2015, the New York Times reported
that the New York Blood Centre abandoned 66
chimps who they had been using in biomedical
research on islands in Liberia with no food
or water.
(25:37):
And on an emergency basis, the Desmonds picked
up their lives and dropped what they were
doing and moved to Liberia for what was
supposed to be four or five weeks to
put systems in place with locals to take
care of the chimps on these islands.
And then they were going to leave.
And as you mentioned early on, Jane, the
(25:58):
government, the forestry authorities began dropping off orphans
unrelated to the chimpanzees on the islands.
These were victims of the exotic pet trade
and the bushmeat trade, began bringing them to
their front door.
And, you know, one turned into 10 probably
in the matter of first, you know, several
(26:19):
months or a year or so.
I, the Desmonds were, and so the footage
that you've been showing, Jane, is of the
Desmonds with about the first 10 or 12
chimps in their backyard.
This is not a sanctuary, this footage that
you're showing right now, this is sort of
a makeshift enclosure that the Desmonds had in
their own backyard to take care of these
(26:40):
chimps who were coming in.
But this could not withstand the number of
chimps that kept coming in.
The Desmonds had to build a proper chimpanzee
sanctuary outside of a village, populated village area,
sort of in a remote area, and build
an infrastructure.
And keep in mind these chimps who are
(27:02):
all we're seeing right now are sort of
the babies and the juveniles.
They grow up and they become big, strong,
and dangerous.
And so they need to, and you haven't
really shown those.
And the ones you're showing on the screen
right now were the ones on the islands
who were used in research.
But all of the chimps that you're looking
at now are adults, and they're in these
large enclosures, but they're unable to leave the
(27:25):
enclosures until the Desmonds are able to embark
on phase two of the sanctuary in which
they could create moats and build walls, so
that when they let the larger chimpanzees out
of their enclosures, they won't be able to
sort of escape into the local village.
And local villagers won't be able to sort
of come into this area.
(27:47):
And that will keep everyone safe.
So there's a sense of urgency around phase
two, so that these large chimps can get
outside into a forest, which mimics their natural
habitat.
I'll say one more thing, and that is
in 2016, when I was working on the
campaign to compel the New York Blood Centre
(28:08):
to pay for the care of the chimps
who they abandoned on the islands, again, unrelated
to the chimps we're talking about now, the
Desmonds who were there taking care of the
chimps on the islands at that time encouraged
me to come over and visit them and
see the chimps for whom I was fighting.
They didn't know me.
They didn't know, you know, for all they
knew, I could have been the crazy, radical,
(28:29):
extreme animal, right?
They didn't know what they were getting into,
and they were kind enough to invite me
over and take that risk.
And I was able to go there and
document not only the chimps on the islands,
but the chimps who came into their care,
the ones you've been showing, those chimps are
now adults, and now they've got 115, and
miraculously, they built a sanctuary from the ground
(28:52):
up in a remote forest, again, in Liberia,
in a place with no electricity, no plumbing,
no roads, no infrastructure, at a time when
there was a shortage of materials due to
supply chain, when they didn't really have money
coming in.
So the obstacles that they faced during COVID
(29:15):
to build a sanctuary from the ground up,
I am mesmerised by the work that they
do.
And because they're so remote, because they're so
isolated, they just can't, they don't have the
reach that a lot of the other sanctuaries
that are more established have.
And so that's why they've had trouble raising
money.
People don't know they exist.
Well, we're gonna do everything we can, and
we have breaking news.
(29:37):
You are watching video and speaking with the
Desmonds live from Liberia.
We have been trying to raise money because
they need money.
This is an emergency appeal.
They are taking care of 150 orphan chimps,
and these are just like babies.
Remember, these are our closest cousins.
(29:58):
They share so much of our DNA.
I mean, these are children.
And thanks to their organisation, the Liberiachimpanzeerescue.org,
you can see that these animals are happy
and they're living their best lives, even though
their mothers were gunned down in front of
them or shot in front of them, hit
(30:22):
in front of them, killed in front of
them.
They've been rescued and they are living their
best lives.
They're some of the adults and they're the
babies.
So we have breaking news.
We went on the air seeking donations and
we got donations.
We have gotten so far today, absolutely amazing
(30:44):
donation from Mick Davoudian and Jeff Hoffman, who
announced that they are donating $10,000.
And then we also got a donation of
$1,000 from Nilofar, and I don't wanna
(31:05):
mess up your last name, but Asgharian, I
think it is pronounced, but apologies if I
messed it up, but thank you for your
generosity.
And then she said, hey, we're gonna do
a match.
Now I personally, so moved by these images
of these babies, have donated $1,000 myself.
(31:26):
So we're up to $12,000.
Let's see.
Now, also we got a donation.
Smaller donations are great.
So we've gotten smaller donations from Lindsay Baker.
We've gotten smaller donations from Tiffany Brunelli.
And we are gonna really ask people, please,
(31:48):
$10, $5, it's going to make all the
difference and it's very easy to donate.
So you can donate, and I'll show you
the link to donate right now.
And if you're listening, I will read it
out to you.
It is, getting there right this second, boom,
(32:12):
LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate.
So I wanna call one of the folks
who has donated, and she may not have
donated a huge amount.
She said, oh, it's nothing compared.
No, everything is something.
Any donation, it's also not just the physical
(32:34):
amount, it's the support and the sense of
community that Jenny and Jim Desmond in a
Liberia feel because they're there by themselves.
I mean, imagine that, 115 chimpanzees, and people
are saying, thank you for taking care of
these sweet babies.
(32:55):
Let us know if you're donating.
Do we have Lindsay Baker on the line?
This is Lindsay Baker.
Okay, so tell us, Lindsay, thank you for
your donation.
You're urging other people to donate as well.
What are your thoughts and feelings and questions?
Well, I mean, this is such a critical
(33:18):
situation here.
These poor chimpanzees, they need the care that
only these people apparently are able to give
them right now.
And I know this is a tough time
for people.
You know, a lot of people are having
a little tougher time, but, and I know
like it's wonderful to see these wonderful, huge
(33:39):
donations.
It can be intimidating.
Please, just anything you can donate.
I made a small donation.
What was your donation?
Tell us what your donation was so that
we can, you know.
It was $25.
Great.
And now I feel really guilty.
Yes, you do.
Uh-uh, don't, do not feel that way.
If everybody donated $25, they would have their
(34:01):
problem solved.
Yep.
Continue on.
No, I think so, those of us, maybe
we can go back and deep, maybe I
can go back and reach in a little
deeper, even though this is a tough time
of the year for everyone.
But the situation is incredible.
The more attention we can bring to it,
I don't think people know what's going on.
(34:23):
I don't think they know the slaughter that
is going on.
And the reason is not helping, you know,
they say, oh, it's for animal testing, it's
for humans to help humans.
No one is benefiting from this.
This is causing trouble for everyone.
It's causing problems with disease, it's causing all
(34:45):
this awful torture for these animals.
And it just touches me to see them.
And when this poor little creature is laughing,
you know, when he gets tickled after being
paralysed, after seeing his parents die, obviously they
have a superior intelligence, which does not mean
that we treat them any differently because of
(35:05):
their level of intelligence, but we do know
that they are even more aware.
So it just touches your heart.
Thank you so much, Lindsay.
Thank you.
And you do incredible work.
Thank you, my dear.
And so there you have...
Yes, go ahead.
Sorry, I was gonna address what Lindsay said
about just the word slaughter.
(35:26):
It's true.
And like we said before, I wanna make
it clear.
We're not talking about subsistence hunting for people
to eat.
This is a commercial trade.
For every chimpanzee, I think really important to
understand that at least her mother was killed,
but the estimate is, you know, somewhere between
five and 10 for every baby who finally
(35:46):
makes their way to us.
So if you think about the 115, you
know, that's over a thousand chimpanzees taken from
the wild, which is just devastating for the
whole species and the population and biodiversity and
all the things we all care about on
top of animal welfare and these guys, you
know, getting a good life.
And we have the second largest population of
(36:08):
Western chimpanzees in Liberia.
They're critically endangered.
And, you know, when you think about a
thousand, subtracted out of 7,000, that's a
huge percentage of the population just wiped out.
And these guys don't go back to the
wild.
That's another thing that I think people don't
realise.
So they will live for about 60 years
(36:29):
and they will live at the sanctuary for
their lifetimes.
And we've got more breaking news in.
We've got a very generous offer coming in.
I want to go to Karen LaCava, who
has, she is a real estate broker.
She says, I will donate a portion of
my next real estate commission as soon as
(36:51):
it closes.
Wow.
Exactly, Karen LaCava.
That is wonderful.
That's amazing.
Yay.
Thank you, Karen LaCava.
Absolutely wonderful.
And I saw another donation come in just
now from Michelle Celestino.
They'll post it on Facebook so people can
(37:12):
see, but Michelle donated $25.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you, Michelle.
And to Lindsay, I didn't get a chance
to thank you.
$25 is amazing.
Every, I mean, it all adds up.
You know, we couldn't have done any of
this without all the small donations adding up.
So, you know, we had a, there was
a, back in 2020, that, you know, the
BBC filmed a show about us trying to
(37:33):
build the sanctuary and we never even got
to building the sanctuary.
But when it aired in the UK, we
were able to raise, I think in the
first three weeks, it aired over three weeks,
about a quarter million dollars.
And it was almost primarily from small donations.
Just small ones that added up.
Like $5, $10, $25, 50.
(37:55):
So every, I mean, we really mean it.
I mean, every amount, every donation counts.
Every dollar helps us take care of these
guys.
And so we're just so grateful for anyone
who cares enough.
Again, Jane, you mentioned, you know, that we're
over here on our own and it's hard
(38:16):
for us to reach out.
So this exposure is great, but it's more
than the money too.
It's, you mentioned the community.
It makes us feel like we're connecting with
people that we're not alone over here.
Of course, we have our amazing, we have
a lot of Liberian friends and our amazing
team here.
We're not alone in that sense.
But in the sense of trying to raise
the money and trying to build this place
(38:38):
and to save the species, you know, these
guys are rapidly going extinct.
So it's these individuals, but it's also all
the other chimps out there that we're trying
to protect as well.
So we can't- And that's what raises
a question.
Tom says, I believe chimps are endangered.
Aren't they given government protection?
Yes.
So in Liberia, they have some of the
(39:00):
stronger protections here than they have in the
U.S., by the way.
No one here is allowed to kill a
chimp.
No one is allowed to have a chimp
as a pet.
So it's been a matter of, you know,
it's just like anything, right?
Drugs or anything else.
We, it's about, we made the laws stricter.
We had to build enforcement.
No one really even was aware of what
(39:21):
was going on and the extent to what
was happening.
And there are the good guys and the
bad guys, just like everything, right?
There are the commercial traders who are just
making money, just like a drug dealer.
The people buying pets over in the Middle
East or China or in the U.S.
or wherever it is for entertainment to use
as pets, to put in circuses.
So yeah, it's illegal here, but just with
(39:43):
everything that's illegal, it's really hard work to
get the laws to be enforced.
And in addition to that, we don't really
wanna do law enforcement.
We wanna work with communities and work with
our neighbours to really want to also protect
these chimpanzees because most Liberians don't wanna kill
chimpanzees either.
So.
This is fantastic.
(40:05):
I have to say, people have all sorts
of questions.
Do you work with Jane Goodall?
Yes, we do.
We know her very well.
Yes.
So the Jane Goodall Institute has helped us
with a bunch of different projects.
We've known the Jane Goodall Institute for years
and worked with them.
But I just wanna make the point, they
(40:25):
have two of their own sanctuaries.
So they really aren't in a position to
help us financially with our sanctuary because they're
keeping two going on, so.
Exactly.
Absolutely.
You know, you are doing such extraordinary work.
And tell me about your backstory.
Where are you from in the United States?
I know you're a veterinarian, Dr. Desmond.
Tell us about how you, prior to getting
(40:48):
the calls, hey, come to Africa for a
month to help these chimps that were abandoned
after being used in biomedical research and thought
you were going there for a month.
And you ended up being there for 10
years and now you have 115 children, essentially
chimpanzee children.
But what is your backstory?
(41:09):
Tell us about yourselves.
So I grew up in Maine.
Jenny grew up in California.
And we met in Boston and it was
kind of- We weren't doing this work
at all when we met.
It was pretty much love at first sight.
We got married pretty quickly and we went
on this round-the-world trip.
(41:29):
It was like an extended honeymoon.
You know, we saved money and we'll do
a backpack around the world and we'll settle
down.
And on that trip, by chance, we ended
up volunteering at this orangutan rehabilitation centre in
Borneo.
And that was a life-changing event.
Jenny found a way.
She'd always wanted to work with animals but
(41:50):
didn't find a way that she felt comfortable
with.
But a sanctuary was something that she did.
And for me, there was a veterinarian there
doing research on zoonotic diseases, so disease transfer
between humans and animals.
And I was so fascinated with it that
human diseases could impact the great apes.
And so that set us on this odyssey,
(42:12):
you know, to where we are now, where
I went to vet school and we volunteered
in all these places around the world and
eventually ended up here, where, you know, I
still do the disease work, but we built
this whole sanctuary.
And yeah, here we are.
That's the quick CliffsNotes version.
Okay, we have two donations that just came
(42:32):
in.
Michelle Celestino, I just donated.
And she also said she donated $25 in
another text.
And Annie Abram has donated.
And again, yes, let's keep those pledges and
donations coming in.
And to recap, boy, there are so many
donations.
(42:53):
This broadcast has so far raised over $11
,000.
That's amazing.
There is a match.
There is a match.
Niloufar has said she would match $1,000.
So let's get that match in.
We can do 500 and 500.
Let's go back to Donnie Moss for a
second, because Donnie, full disclosure, I was living
(43:17):
in New York when you decided to take
on the New York Blood Centre for abandoning
these chintz after using them for biomedical research.
And everybody said, you know, you're not gonna
be able to make a difference.
And you did.
(43:37):
But you did some very intense demonstrations, buy
-ins at the New York Blood Centre, which
I was there.
I don't know if I actually went on
the ground.
I think I was reporting it for my
fledgling, a nonprofit news network.
But you did the impossible.
Tell us how you got, tell us what
(44:00):
you did and how you did it.
So when we learned that the Blood Centre
abandoned these chintz and that the Blood Centre
was this extraordinarily wealthy organisation that we believe
earned about a billion dollars in royalties off
the research that they conducted on these chintz,
it was just an outrage.
(44:21):
And so when we, and you were there,
Jane, for one of the first protests where
we staged a disruption in the lobby of
the New York Blood Centre, after that was
an escalation.
We were polite first and that didn't work.
And then when we got nowhere with the
New York Blood Centre, we started to go
after their corporate donors, of course, starting out
politely.
And then after being ignored, escalating and escalating
(44:42):
to the point that we got IBM, MetLife
and Citigroup to, as far as I know,
this never happens, make public statements sort of
condemning the Blood Centre for abandoning the chintz.
And Citigroup went so far as to donate
$50,000 toward the care of these chintz.
(45:02):
I just wanna clarify, again, these are not
the chintz that the Desmonds are taking care
of now.
These are the chintz that were abandoned on
islands on a nearby river in Liberia.
So that campaign was two years.
It was very stressful and it ended with
a $6 million grant from the New York
Blood Centre for the lifelong care of those
(45:24):
chintz.
The Desmonds didn't see a penny of that
money for the chintz who are now in
their care.
And the campaign that I ran, while difficult,
pales in comparison to the work that I've
seen the Desmonds doing on the ground in
Liberia.
You know, one of the things that amazes
me was that in 2015, when they answered
the call to go there in this crisis
(45:45):
situation to, you know, get food and water
and systems in place to care for the
chintz abandoned on the islands, they went there
during an Ebola outbreak.
I mean, it was a scary time.
Liberia throughout the decades has been riddled with
civil unrest.
And here they sort of dropped what they
were doing, moved to Liberia, again, with a
plan to stay for five weeks.
(46:07):
They are not supposed to be there now,
almost 10 years later, but they've stayed and
now they're stuck.
And truth be told, until they have an
endowment, which will ensure that the chintz have
enough money to cover the cost of living
and the salaries of all their employees for
60 years, which is how long these chintz
(46:28):
can live, the Desmonds are stuck there.
And so sort of, I feel an obligation
and a desire being somebody on the ground
in the US to try and spread the
word here as much as I can, because
they just don't have the networks that so
many of the other sanctuaries like the Jane
Goodall sanctuaries have.
And so, and as I mentioned earlier, it
(46:50):
just, it bears repeating that phase one of
their sanctuary, night houses, you know, basic infrastructure,
nursery have been built, but they desperately need
to embark on phase two, which will allow
the adult chintz to get out into the
forest, climb trees and do what they are
(47:12):
designed to do.
All of these chintz, all 115 chintz and
the chintz who will invariably come in in
the coming days, months and years, they're gonna
spend their lives at this sanctuary.
And the Desmonds wanna be sure that their
sanctuary mimics to whatever extent possible their natural
habitat, which is the forest.
And until the adults can get out into
(47:35):
the forest, into climb trees and express their
natural behaviours, they're stuck.
And so, there's a sense of urgency, not
only to cover their operating expenses, to feed
their chintz and pay the salaries, but also
expand the sanctuary with phase two and build
an endowment.
It's a lot.
And so if whoever can help, we just
(47:57):
need their help.
Wow.
This is extraordinary.
I wanna ask a couple of questions.
Are you still in contact with the BBC?
Because I see this as a great follow
-up story.
As a journalist myself, wow.
I would jump on this as a follow
-up.
(48:18):
What can you do to convince them?
Because that could go a long way.
We are talking to them.
Yes.
We want to see if they can re
-air the first episodes, like back on their
iPlayer and distributed out.
And we are talking to them about doing
a follow-up.
They were going to do a part two,
but that was when COVID hit and all
(48:39):
their production stopped.
So it was really bad timing on that.
So we are talking to them, Jane, and
we would love to do another show.
It just brought so much, not only donations,
but mostly exposure and awareness as well about
what's going on here.
So yes, of course, we would love to
do another one.
And we are talking to them.
(49:00):
But I think whether it's BBC or someone
else, we'd love to do a follow-up.
Absolutely.
And let's see Grace again.
She's hiding behind her blanket.
She's getting sleepy.
I'm sure.
I'm sure.
Because it's dark now.
Now, what's the rehabilitation process?
(49:21):
You said she was literally paralysed.
Look how she clings to you.
It's so moving.
How did you enable her to become well
-adjusted and happy and giggle despite the trauma
that she witnessed of her mother being killed
in front of her?
Well, I'll have to give her some credit
(49:42):
because these chimpanzees, they're so inspiring.
They're so resilient.
They really teach us about how we can
survive pretty much anything because they do.
But we have a really intensive care programme.
Our caregivers are amazing.
They're just like what you see here.
We give them 24-hour intensive care.
They come in and they get moms.
(50:02):
Sometimes they have to share a mom or
two, but they get moms, they get love,
and they're with other chimpanzees.
And we just, you know, that's what turns
them around.
I mean, with Grace, we needed to do
some more physical stuff.
Of course, Jimmy's a vet.
He gets them kind of healthy again.
They often come in, they're dehydrated.
Some of them have broken legs.
We've had many come in with broken bones,
(50:23):
broken arms, broken legs from shrapnel, or they've
fallen out of the tree with their moms
and broken bones.
We've had them where they've had cuts on
their heads from falling.
So lots of different injuries.
So it's kind of hearing that physical piece,
but the most important piece for chimps, just
like I think it would be just the
same for us, right, with human orphans, is
(50:44):
that just that TLC, just that constant love
and care.
They sleep with their caregivers.
They are with them all day.
If you get up, you carry them with
you, just like their moms would.
So we really try and replicate what they'd
have with their moms as much as possible,
you know.
We're getting questions as people join.
I know you told this story, but Gail
Thornberry wants to know, where did you get
(51:05):
her from?
Can you tell the backstory of this particular
Grace, this chimpanzee?
So Grace came from near the border with
Cote d'Ivoire.
So she was probably on her way to
be sold out to someone else.
The far Eastern part of Liberia, which is
very forested area and a town called Fishtown,
(51:26):
actually.
And one of the rangers who was in
that area heard a rumour that there was
a chimpanzee and they went and confiscated her
from the people who were keeping her as
a pet or who were keeping her to
sell.
Maybe they were trying to get her across
the border.
(51:48):
And so once we heard about it-
And what about her mother?
What about Grace's mother?
Grace's mother was killed.
And if you, I mean, you can't see,
but Grace has, there's several scars where you
can see where the pellets went into her
body and you can even still feel-
You can feel them.
You can feel multiple pellets, shotgun pellets that
are embedded under her skin.
In her muscle.
(52:11):
So, and Grace's, you know, they all come,
they all come at least traumatised, you know,
psychologically traumatised because of what they've been through.
And often they have physical damage or they're
sick.
(52:31):
Grace is one of the worst cases because
she was actually paralysed.
And it's amazing that she's been able to
recover as much as she has.
And we hope she'll continue to gain strength
and function in her arm and her left
arm and leg.
And the thing is, Jenny was mentioning, you
know, how we provide 24-hour care.
(52:53):
You know, Grace, you know, chimpanzees, the physical
contact.
So you have to imagine, this is why
we try and simulate what their life is
like in the wild.
You have to imagine that a baby chimpanzee
is in 24-7 physically connected to the
mom, like constantly touching the mom's body.
Because if they get left behind in the
(53:16):
forest by their group, they're gonna die.
They're not gonna make it.
And so for the first like really three
years of their life, they barely move more
than a few metres away from their mom
or their aunties.
They're always very close by because- Yeah,
if I get up right now, which I
wouldn't do it, but if I got up
(53:36):
right now, she would scream and she would
absolutely go crazy.
I would never do it.
But I mean, if I just stood up
quickly for some reason to go walk away,
she doesn't sit here.
It's not like a human baby where they
might sit on the couch and watch you
while you do things.
Their instinct and their whole emotional attachment with
(53:56):
their moms is to hold on to mom.
To hold on for dear life, basically.
We just got another donation.
Kim Delgado just donated.
Thank you, Kim.
Thank you.
Keep these donations coming in.
We're just about at the end of our
show.
I could go on for hours.
I am so moved by the work you
(54:19):
do, by the generosity of our viewers.
Wow.
Please keep these donations coming.
$25, $10, it all counts.
And I wanna thank Donnie Moss for making
this happen, really reaching out to me and
saying, hey, these folks need help.
(54:41):
Thank you, Donnie, for that.
Thank you for doing this.
Yeah, I mean, thank you for all the
work you're doing.
It's absolutely amazing.
115 chimps.
I'm just gonna say it one more time.
Please, guys, I've donated.
We've gotten a bunch of people to donate,
but they need more donations.
(55:02):
$5, $10, $15, $20, $25.
Please, LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate.
And I'm just absolutely touched by the work
you do.
God bless you.
Keep it up.
We, I hope the BBC does the video
(55:24):
and we will stay on top of your
story.
So come back soon.
Thank you so much.
Because- Thank you, Donnie.
Thank you to all the donors and everyone
who watched.
And just, yeah, we're filled with gratitude tonight.
Thank you.
I am absolutely just so touched and moved.
So of course, as we wrap up, we
(55:45):
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(56:05):
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That's unchained.
Main TV free streaming network, Jane Valez Mitchell.
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Now, here's your host, Jane Valez Mitchell.
(00:21):
Welcome, we have breaking news for you.
This is an extraordinary story.
We are going live to Africa, where we
are going to meet the Desmonds, who are
taking care of more than a hundred chimps.
These chimps are orphaned from the bushmeat trade,
from the illegal wildlife trade.
(00:44):
Now, they were asked back in 2015 to
go to Liberia, which is in Africa, to
save the lives of 66 chimpanzees abandoned after
biomedical research.
Well, they got there, they thought they'd be
there for about a month, and guess what
happened?
People started coming to them with chimps that
(01:05):
they had rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
Look at these innocent beings, these angels.
Those are actually the chimps that were used
in biomedical research.
Here are some of the orphaned chimps.
And so they stayed, and now 10 years
later, they have about 115 chimps in their
care, and dozens of employees in neighbouring villages.
(01:30):
They need help.
Now, they were on a fantastic three-part
BBC series about their conservation and rescue work.
That brought them some donations, but those donations
have run out, and they keep getting inundated
with these innocent angels, and they need help.
They have to raise many thousands of dollars
(01:51):
before the end of the year.
These are hungry mouths to feed.
So without further ado, we're gonna go straight
out to Africa Live and talk to the
one and only Dr. Jim Desmond and Jenny
Desmond, who are there with a baby chimp.
(02:11):
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
This is Grace.
Can you hold her up a little bit?
Seeing her from over the banner, thank you.
Look at little Grace, look at that.
Go ahead.
Gracie.
She's tired.
It's her bedtime.
Yeah, yeah.
It's actually dark over here, believe it or
(02:32):
not.
Let's cut right to the chase.
We're gonna get your fascinating backstory in a
second, but what help do you need?
How many chimps are you taking care of,
and how can we help?
Well, we have 115 chimpanzees, and that we've
rescued over the last almost 10 years.
(02:54):
And we're sort of bursting at the seams.
We're sort of desperate for cash.
We built an entire sanctuary, thanks to a
lot of amazing help from donors.
But we need to expand the sanctuary, and
we also need help with operations.
So it costs about $40,000 a month
to run the sanctuary, so almost half a
(03:15):
million dollars a year.
And then to expand the sanctuary, it's gonna
take another probably $750,000.
So about a million dollars is what we
need that will help us get through the
next year, get 250 to the end of
the year, but then another 750 to build
the infrastructure we need.
(03:35):
So that will give the chimps, a lot
of the young ones get to go to
the forest every day, but some of our
older ones don't have access until we build
this next phase of the sanctuary.
Of infrastructure.
And I wanna put up immediately where you
can donate.
You can go to LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash
(03:56):
donate.
We're gonna put this up throughout the hour.
Look at that angel.
These are babies.
Tell me about this little girl, Grace.
So Grace has a great story, actually.
She's our little miracle baby.
I mean, we actually have quite a few
miracles here because as you know, all of
the chimps who arrived here, their mothers were
killed.
So they're all orphans and they've all witnessed
(04:17):
great trauma.
So they're all miracles that they recover and
decide to live and are happy.
But Grace, in particular, she arrived and half
of her was really quickly realised she was
very weak, but as she was getting stronger
mentally and physically, we realised her left side
was completely paralysed.
So what we think happened is she got
(04:38):
an injury when her mom was shot because
a lot of times they get shrapnel and
pellets in their bodies.
And then we think since she couldn't move,
the people who had her just put her
in a box and left her there for
probably months or a year or however long
she was there.
Yeah, I know.
And so by the time she got to
us, she was not only paralysed, but it's
like she had forgotten she even had an
(04:58):
arm or a leg.
And we just didn't know if she was
gonna, we didn't know if she'd survive, but
we figured once she was strong enough to
survive, then we really got to work thinking
about whether we could figure out how to,
sorry, to rehabilitate her.
And we started doing physical therapy.
Our team did amazing physical therapy.
We've been doing this now for about four
(05:20):
months or five months.
And she just the other day climbed up
a rope and into a tree.
So- Yeah, which is amazing.
We were- Everyone was cheering.
Everyone was cheering.
Our caregivers were singing and dancing.
So it was very exciting for everybody.
Right, Christine?
And Jenny, your mommy, right?
(05:40):
I mean, in their hearts and minds, you've
become mom.
Yeah, yeah.
Tell us about that.
We are, we have an amazing caregiving team,
but yeah, you know, in the wild, they
would be with their mom full time.
I mean, she would still be with her
mom, sleeping with their mom.
She'd still be nursing for another, probably three
years or more.
(06:02):
So when they come, you know, they've not
only seen their moms die, but they have
also really just, I mean, they want to
cling to somebody, but by the time we
get them, they've usually been abused and neglected
also because they're being sold into the pet
trade.
And it's just, you know, they need somebody
to really bring them back to life.
(06:23):
And that's what our caregiving team does.
So we're a mom and they're a mom.
And yeah, we're all moms together.
Now, let me ask you a question.
What about the Liberian government?
I mean, shouldn't the Liberian government come in
and say they're apparently bringing you a lot
of these animals.
Shouldn't they come in and say, hey, and
(06:44):
people are saying, please put up the address
to donate.
Yes, let me put that up right now
because that's the next step in doing this.
We need to get donations in.
And I don't want to say this to
say it, but to encourage others, I donated
$1,000 because- Yes, you did, thank
you.
The reason is I look at these faces
(07:06):
and, oh my God, if you weren't there
helping them, what would possibly happen to these
angels?
These are our closest relatives to Homo sapiens.
I mean, look at that face.
And you're taking care of 115.
It broke my heart, but also I was
(07:27):
like, I want to do everything I can
to help you.
So tell us again about what a donation
will do.
So, I mean, every donation helps, whether it's
$5 or $10 or $1,000.
(07:48):
Money goes a long way here in Liberia.
We employ a lot of people.
So it also, we work really closely with
the community.
We employ about 40 people, about almost 30
of them are caregivers.
And it really enriches their lives.
They're able to put their kids through school.
They're able to build houses.
And it rains a lot here in Liberia.
You know, Liberia is one of the poorest
(08:09):
countries in the world.
That's sort of why the government can't help
us.
I just, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted
you, I don't know if you'll be able
to see or hear this, but Gracie is
laughing a little bit here.
Yes, I see a question for about a
501c3.
And yes, we have a 501c3 in the
United States.
So if you donate through the website, we
(08:29):
are a tax exempt organisation.
So she's laughing.
She's laughing.
Oh my gosh.
This is like pre-bedtime tickles, just like
humans.
Oh my gosh.
Look at that angel.
Look at that angel.
And this couple is caring for 115 of
(08:49):
them in Liberia.
And it reminds me of that song, a
three hour tour.
You were there for 10 years taking care
of these babies and people bring you the
babies, right?
They, I mean.
Yes.
(09:09):
Including the government.
So we've progressed a lot here.
You mentioned the government.
So I wanted to address that, that Liberia
is one of the poorest countries.
It's an amazing country.
The people here are amazing, but you know,
the government just doesn't have money to spare,
but we do work really closely with the
government.
We've been able to change laws and policies.
We're protecting, we're establishing new protected areas for
(09:33):
Chimp Habitat.
We do a lot of community work and
engage with our communities.
And we employ a lot of people and
work with our team's amazing.
We do a tonne of awareness.
So we work really closely with the government,
but financially that burden is on us.
Like that will always be on us.
So we're looking at money that we need
to raise now.
Like Jimmy said, the 250,000 before the
(09:55):
end of the year, and then to finish
our next phase of infrastructure.
And then of course, eventually, you know, we
want to set up an endowment for these
guys.
So every dollar counts, whether it's to buy
some Seralac for little Gracie or some fruits
and vegetables or to pay a caregiver salary,
fuel to go get fruits and all our
(10:16):
supplies.
So everything, I mean, from a dollar to
a thousand dollars to $10,000, anything helps.
And just so to like lay out some
of the numbers so people understand, it costs
about $6,000 a month for fresh fruits
and vegetables.
Another $1,000 for, we give them like
a baby porridge.
Jenny just mentioned Seralac.
(10:36):
And we do that because there's not great,
it's not a wide variety of foods here
in Liberia.
There's really poor agricultural systems.
So we do that.
So they're getting, you know, fortified baby cereal
essentially.
So they're getting all their vitamins and minerals.
And then our salaries costs, it's about $15
,000 a month to employ everybody.
And then all the other things that go
(10:57):
along with it, such as keeping the vehicles
going and vehicle maintenance and keeping the site
going.
So site maintenance and things like that.
So we're just grateful for any donations that
people can give.
It really helps us take care of these
guys.
Our main goal is to, you know, our
main number one goal, our mission is to
(11:18):
get people, get people to stop hunting the
chimpanzees, stop wild chimpanzees from being killed.
So we stop receiving orphans.
But once you receive, once we get little
people like Grace, you know, then we have
to provide them a good life.
And what we try and do is give
them as close an approximation to their, what
(11:40):
life they would have in the wild.
So they're with other chimps, they're with surrogate
moms, human moms, and then they get to
spend their days in the forest.
I hate to cover up that baby to
say live from Africa and to say where
to donate, but that's, there we go.
(12:02):
Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org.
And I did it.
It takes a second.
They are a 501c3 in the United States.
So you do get the tax deduction and
everybody.
Okay, so we've got some pledges coming in.
Nilo Farr has pledged $250.
Thank you.
And Tiffany Baker, I believe said she's donating
(12:25):
now.
And Tiffany says, I'm donating now.
So I actually said that I was gonna
call Nilo Farr and let her weigh in
a little bit.
And so we're gonna see if she picks
up.
Nilo Farr has pledged to donate 250.
(12:46):
Nilo Farr, you are live.
First of all, thank you for your $250
pledge.
Go and go straight to Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org forward
slash donate and make that happen.
What are your thoughts and questions for the
Desmonds?
First, I wanna acknowledge Unchained TV and their
(13:07):
turn for shedding light on the story of
the rescued Liberian chimps.
These chimps are survivors of junk science and
it's shameful that decades of, after decades of
painful and invasive medical procedures, the New York
Blood Centre failed to honour its commitment.
Oh my God, wait a second.
I have to jump in.
(13:29):
We've got breaking news.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
I'm gonna cry.
Oh my God.
Me too.
That is amazing.
My husband and I will be donating $10
,000 through our charitable donation.
Oh my gosh, I'm gonna cry.
I really am gonna cry.
I'm gonna cry now.
That's amazing.
(13:49):
This is just so beautiful.
Thank you, Mick.
Thank you, Mick.
That is so beautiful.
Oh my God.
Honestly, it's so, so, I mean, thank you
for your generosity.
It means the world to us.
You've got everyone crying here.
And to all our babies that we take
(14:10):
care of.
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
Maybe we can get them on the phone,
but I have to say, thank you, thank
you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank
you.
What can we say, Dion?
Thank you, God bless you for doing this.
This is unbelievable.
Really.
(14:31):
I mean, I have seen so many horrible
things.
When I saw these baby chips and I
saw their faces, it's, they're children.
They are children.
They are.
The idea that you're doing this with 115
children on your own.
(14:52):
I mean, I just said to myself, and
Donny, thank God for Donny calling me.
And I said, Donny, anything we can do,
we have to move into action to help
these people.
I mean- Thank you so much, Jane.
And Donny, I mean, Donny's been a life
-changing friend for us.
He's been out here twice, and we're trying
to get him to get on a plane
(15:12):
again and get out here now, because he
hasn't even seen our new site.
But yeah, Donny's been absolutely amazing.
And people like you, Jane.
I mean, we just, like you said, we're
out, we're here.
I mean, those kinds of donations, that donation
that Mick just made is unbelievable.
And you sharing our story.
I mean, we're just in the middle of
(15:33):
nowhere out here and getting us to be,
getting this kind of exposure is just invaluable
for us.
So we're so grateful.
Oh my gosh, wow.
Wow, wow.
And you know, what you just said about,
you know, that they're- Their children.
That they're children is, you know, the thing
about the chimps, and everyone knows that they're,
you know, genetically, you know, the most similar
(15:56):
species to humans.
But I think that when you spend time
with these guys is what you realise the
way they're most similar to us is emotionally.
And, you know, when you think of your
own self or your own internal self, you
know, we're really just all about our emotions.
It's how we feel all the time.
(16:18):
And the chimpanzees, you know, you think about
these little babies and they, you know, their
life has been torn apart.
I mean, they've seen their mother killed and
maybe other family members, and they've been injured.
And put in a terrible situation in captivity,
and they're scared and, you know, and then
they get here, and we do our best
(16:39):
to give them a good life, you know?
And the number one thing for chimps is
that being with other chimps.
So that once they do reach us, whatever
situation they've been in before, we give them
love and care, get them healthy.
But then they get to be with their
little, you know, their other chimpanzees.
And so that's gonna be the rest of
(17:00):
their life.
And that's the thing that's so great for
them.
But it's just, it's every time we get
a new chimpanzee, a new orphan, it's a
tragedy, you know?
And we're happy we rescued them, but it's
always, we always feel so angry and sad,
all mixed up.
And we just, I don't even know what
(17:22):
I'm saying.
I'm just talking.
I'm just so grateful that you have put
us, you know, give us this exposure.
And that donation, I missed the last name,
but Mick is- Mick Davoudian.
Mick Davoudian, who is a philanthropist who supports
Unchained TV.
And, you know, he and his husband, Joe
(17:45):
Kaufman, are two of the most generous people
I've ever met.
And so breaking news, if you're just joining
us, we're doing this story about this incredible
sanctuary in Liberia where these two individuals, husband
and wife team, Dr. Desmond is a veterinarian.
They have 115 chimps.
(18:07):
I got word from Donnie Moss, who we're
gonna talk to in a second, that they
were running out of money and they need
money.
They have 115 hungry mouths to feed and
that they were in a crisis and that
there's an emergency.
So we are talking to him.
And the breaking news is that Mick Davoudian
(18:28):
and his husband, Jeff Hoffman, just donated $10
,000.
Wow.
Thank you, Jeff.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh my God.
We are so grateful.
Thank you.
I wanna show the miracles.
Can you put the camera right up here?
I want you to see the miracles that
your donations are giving.
(18:49):
This is little Grace.
And I think, I don't know if you
heard before, but she came to us paralysed
and I'm gonna be quiet for a second
so you can hear her laugh.
That's her laughing from tickling.
Can you guys hear that?
I don't know if you can hear that.
Yes, we can.
It's adorable.
(19:10):
It's absolutely adorable.
So this is, I mean, your donations literally
work miracles.
This little girl watched her mom be killed
and was paralysed.
And she's now here with other chimps and
being loved and tickled and laughing.
And I mean, it's, you know, they're transformations
(19:31):
that we can't do without everybody's help.
So- Now, I just wanna go back
to Nilo Farr, who is from Texas, who
donated $250 and every donation- Bless the
new Nilo Farr.
Nilo Farr, continue.
We had some breaking news, we interrupted you,
but continue on your thoughts and your questions
for the Desmonds.
(19:51):
Well, because of my fellow countrymen's extremely generous
donation, I'm going to increase my pledge from
250 to 1,000.
Oh my God!
And I pledge to get it matched by
somebody else.
So thank you so much, Mick Davoudian, you're
(20:16):
amazing.
I mean, I just had chills running down
my spine when I heard that news.
Thank you.
Oh, everybody is saying Mick and Jeff, true
heroes.
And you too, Nilo Farr, true hero.
Please post your incredible donation on Facebook.
Wow, this is unbelievable.
(20:36):
So you just heard it here that Nilo
Farr is donating $1,000 and she says
she's going to match, she wants it matched.
So we've got, and of course you would
allow people to match it like 500 and
500, right?
I mean, yeah, so let's get this matched
(21:01):
because this is just super exciting and this
is what I live for.
Honestly, I live for this because we cover
so much depressing stuff, you know, what's happening
to animals.
And when we're able to be a force
for good, not just report the terrible things
that are happening, but help change something, when
(21:23):
you've saved these chimps, you've saved the world
for those chimps.
And people are saying, Nilo Farr, thank you.
The chimps, thank you.
So this is absolutely amazing.
Wow, I'm just super, super excited.
Me too.
Jane, I wanted to just say thank you.
I mean, the thing you said about we
(21:43):
hear so much bad news.
I mean, we're obviously animal rights people.
I've been an animal rights activist since I
was a kid, I think before my kids
barely speak and drove my family nuts.
But, you know, I get bombarded, not just
with chimp things all day, about everything all
the time, as you guys do as well.
And it's really just like getting these kinds
of you guys supporting us and these kinds
(22:06):
of donations.
I mean, it really makes us cry because
it's like you said, it's not only just
this, but just all the bad things that
are happening to our non-human relatives all
around the world.
And then you can see all this good
and you need that.
You need that inspiration.
And it's so, this gives us so much
hope here in the middle of nowhere that
(22:26):
we can make it out here.
Tom wants to know, did they mention chimps
involved in the pet trade?
Yes, Tom, those are all chimps.
Those are all chimps.
Why are they being killed?
So they're being killed for some people for
meat.
Sometimes it's just like people out hunting and
doing, you know, bushmeat hunting and they happen
(22:47):
to find chimps and kill them and sell
the meat.
But there is a demand for chimp meat,
sadly.
It's like an elitist kind of thing.
And then there's a pet trade.
Then these are all really large scale issues.
So we're not talking about subsistence eating.
You and I might not eat any animals,
but, you know, people in Liberia, I mean,
they eat animals, but they don't necessarily want
(23:08):
to eat chimps.
And subsistence farming, that's just, you know, in
the village, somebody going and killing some, you
know, some type of, say an antelope or
something, you know, well, I would prefer they
didn't at all.
They're killing one antelope and they're feeding the
village.
We're talking about these guys are in something
we would call, you know, international wildlife crime.
(23:30):
And we do a lot of work on
that as well.
So- Is this like rich people who
want a chimpanzee?
Yes, and there's a commercial bush meat trade.
There's a commercial pet trade.
So we're talking about a commercial trade that
is driving this.
We wouldn't have 115 chimps from this trade
if it were just a few people in
the, you know, local people hunting for food.
(23:52):
That's not what this is.
So we think, we know from other studies
that have been done.
I mean, what we think is happening in
Liberia is a lot of the, if someone
is out hunting, they're usually part of a,
they're part of, you know, an organised crime
network.
The hunters themselves are like, you know, the
little guy.
But if they happen to kill a chimpanzee
and it's a mom that has a baby,
(24:13):
then they'll try and get the baby out
across the border to Cote d'Ivoire.
And then from there, they might go-
They can go anywhere, Middle East to China.
I mean, I get stuff all the time.
People sending me pictures of someone, you know,
in a castle or a big wealthy mansion
with a baby tiger and a baby chimp.
And I've even seen recently a picture of
(24:34):
a guy with three baby chimps.
I could tell because I know chimps.
They were from three different regions.
There were three different subspecies.
And they were little babies, which means they
killed families in three different regions and took
those babies and got them all the way
to him so he can have a pet.
And this is why I hate it when
there are movies or commercials that feature chimps
(24:56):
or really any other animals.
There is always cruelty at the heart of
it.
Tiffany Brunelli, who did donate, says, please keep
the donations going.
Let's get the match.
So I want to go out now to
Donnie Moss.
You've waited patiently.
You were instrumental in bringing the Desmonds to
(25:17):
Africa initially.
Tell us the backstory about this.
The backstory is absolutely fascinating.
So in 2015, the New York Times reported
that the New York Blood Centre abandoned 66
chimps who they had been using in biomedical
research on islands in Liberia with no food
or water.
(25:37):
And on an emergency basis, the Desmonds picked
up their lives and dropped what they were
doing and moved to Liberia for what was
supposed to be four or five weeks to
put systems in place with locals to take
care of the chimps on these islands.
And then they were going to leave.
And as you mentioned early on, Jane, the
(25:58):
government, the forestry authorities began dropping off orphans
unrelated to the chimpanzees on the islands.
These were victims of the exotic pet trade
and the bushmeat trade, began bringing them to
their front door.
And, you know, one turned into 10 probably
in the matter of first, you know, several
(26:19):
months or a year or so.
I, the Desmonds were, and so the footage
that you've been showing, Jane, is of the
Desmonds with about the first 10 or 12
chimps in their backyard.
This is not a sanctuary, this footage that
you're showing right now, this is sort of
a makeshift enclosure that the Desmonds had in
their own backyard to take care of these
(26:40):
chimps who were coming in.
But this could not withstand the number of
chimps that kept coming in.
The Desmonds had to build a proper chimpanzee
sanctuary outside of a village, populated village area,
sort of in a remote area, and build
an infrastructure.
And keep in mind these chimps who are
(27:02):
all we're seeing right now are sort of
the babies and the juveniles.
They grow up and they become big, strong,
and dangerous.
And so they need to, and you haven't
really shown those.
And the ones you're showing on the screen
right now were the ones on the islands
who were used in research.
But all of the chimps that you're looking
at now are adults, and they're in these
large enclosures, but they're unable to leave the
(27:25):
enclosures until the Desmonds are able to embark
on phase two of the sanctuary in which
they could create moats and build walls, so
that when they let the larger chimpanzees out
of their enclosures, they won't be able to
sort of escape into the local village.
And local villagers won't be able to sort
of come into this area.
(27:47):
And that will keep everyone safe.
So there's a sense of urgency around phase
two, so that these large chimps can get
outside into a forest, which mimics their natural
habitat.
I'll say one more thing, and that is
in 2016, when I was working on the
campaign to compel the New York Blood Centre
(28:08):
to pay for the care of the chimps
who they abandoned on the islands, again, unrelated
to the chimps we're talking about now, the
Desmonds who were there taking care of the
chimps on the islands at that time encouraged
me to come over and visit them and
see the chimps for whom I was fighting.
They didn't know me.
They didn't know, you know, for all they
knew, I could have been the crazy, radical,
(28:29):
extreme animal, right?
They didn't know what they were getting into,
and they were kind enough to invite me
over and take that risk.
And I was able to go there and
document not only the chimps on the islands,
but the chimps who came into their care,
the ones you've been showing, those chimps are
now adults, and now they've got 115, and
miraculously, they built a sanctuary from the ground
(28:52):
up in a remote forest, again, in Liberia,
in a place with no electricity, no plumbing,
no roads, no infrastructure, at a time when
there was a shortage of materials due to
supply chain, when they didn't really have money
coming in.
So the obstacles that they faced during COVID
(29:15):
to build a sanctuary from the ground up,
I am mesmerised by the work that they
do.
And because they're so remote, because they're so
isolated, they just can't, they don't have the
reach that a lot of the other sanctuaries
that are more established have.
And so that's why they've had trouble raising
money.
People don't know they exist.
Well, we're gonna do everything we can, and
we have breaking news.
(29:37):
You are watching video and speaking with the
Desmonds live from Liberia.
We have been trying to raise money because
they need money.
This is an emergency appeal.
They are taking care of 150 orphan chimps,
and these are just like babies.
Remember, these are our closest cousins.
(29:58):
They share so much of our DNA.
I mean, these are children.
And thanks to their organisation, the Liberiachimpanzeerescue.org,
you can see that these animals are happy
and they're living their best lives, even though
their mothers were gunned down in front of
them or shot in front of them, hit
(30:22):
in front of them, killed in front of
them.
They've been rescued and they are living their
best lives.
They're some of the adults and they're the
babies.
So we have breaking news.
We went on the air seeking donations and
we got donations.
We have gotten so far today, absolutely amazing
(30:44):
donation from Mick Davoudian and Jeff Hoffman, who
announced that they are donating $10,000.
And then we also got a donation of
$1,000 from Nilofar, and I don't wanna
(31:05):
mess up your last name, but Asgharian, I
think it is pronounced, but apologies if I
messed it up, but thank you for your
generosity.
And then she said, hey, we're gonna do
a match.
Now I personally, so moved by these images
of these babies, have donated $1,000 myself.
(31:26):
So we're up to $12,000.
Let's see.
Now, also we got a donation.
Smaller donations are great.
So we've gotten smaller donations from Lindsay Baker.
We've gotten smaller donations from Tiffany Brunelli.
And we are gonna really ask people, please,
(31:48):
$10, $5, it's going to make all the
difference and it's very easy to donate.
So you can donate, and I'll show you
the link to donate right now.
And if you're listening, I will read it
out to you.
It is, getting there right this second, boom,
(32:12):
LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate.
So I wanna call one of the folks
who has donated, and she may not have
donated a huge amount.
She said, oh, it's nothing compared.
No, everything is something.
Any donation, it's also not just the physical
(32:34):
amount, it's the support and the sense of
community that Jenny and Jim Desmond in a
Liberia feel because they're there by themselves.
I mean, imagine that, 115 chimpanzees, and people
are saying, thank you for taking care of
these sweet babies.
(32:55):
Let us know if you're donating.
Do we have Lindsay Baker on the line?
This is Lindsay Baker.
Okay, so tell us, Lindsay, thank you for
your donation.
You're urging other people to donate as well.
What are your thoughts and feelings and questions?
Well, I mean, this is such a critical
(33:18):
situation here.
These poor chimpanzees, they need the care that
only these people apparently are able to give
them right now.
And I know this is a tough time
for people.
You know, a lot of people are having
a little tougher time, but, and I know
like it's wonderful to see these wonderful, huge
(33:39):
donations.
It can be intimidating.
Please, just anything you can donate.
I made a small donation.
What was your donation?
Tell us what your donation was so that
we can, you know.
It was $25.
Great.
And now I feel really guilty.
Yes, you do.
Uh-uh, don't, do not feel that way.
If everybody donated $25, they would have their
(34:01):
problem solved.
Yep.
Continue on.
No, I think so, those of us, maybe
we can go back and deep, maybe I
can go back and reach in a little
deeper, even though this is a tough time
of the year for everyone.
But the situation is incredible.
The more attention we can bring to it,
I don't think people know what's going on.
(34:23):
I don't think they know the slaughter that
is going on.
And the reason is not helping, you know,
they say, oh, it's for animal testing, it's
for humans to help humans.
No one is benefiting from this.
This is causing trouble for everyone.
It's causing problems with disease, it's causing all
(34:45):
this awful torture for these animals.
And it just touches me to see them.
And when this poor little creature is laughing,
you know, when he gets tickled after being
paralysed, after seeing his parents die, obviously they
have a superior intelligence, which does not mean
that we treat them any differently because of
(35:05):
their level of intelligence, but we do know
that they are even more aware.
So it just touches your heart.
Thank you so much, Lindsay.
Thank you.
And you do incredible work.
Thank you, my dear.
And so there you have...
Yes, go ahead.
Sorry, I was gonna address what Lindsay said
about just the word slaughter.
(35:26):
It's true.
And like we said before, I wanna make
it clear.
We're not talking about subsistence hunting for people
to eat.
This is a commercial trade.
For every chimpanzee, I think really important to
understand that at least her mother was killed,
but the estimate is, you know, somewhere between
five and 10 for every baby who finally
(35:46):
makes their way to us.
So if you think about the 115, you
know, that's over a thousand chimpanzees taken from
the wild, which is just devastating for the
whole species and the population and biodiversity and
all the things we all care about on
top of animal welfare and these guys, you
know, getting a good life.
And we have the second largest population of
(36:08):
Western chimpanzees in Liberia.
They're critically endangered.
And, you know, when you think about a
thousand, subtracted out of 7,000, that's a
huge percentage of the population just wiped out.
And these guys don't go back to the
wild.
That's another thing that I think people don't
realise.
So they will live for about 60 years
(36:29):
and they will live at the sanctuary for
their lifetimes.
And we've got more breaking news in.
We've got a very generous offer coming in.
I want to go to Karen LaCava, who
has, she is a real estate broker.
She says, I will donate a portion of
my next real estate commission as soon as
(36:51):
it closes.
Wow.
Exactly, Karen LaCava.
That is wonderful.
That's amazing.
Yay.
Thank you, Karen LaCava.
Absolutely wonderful.
And I saw another donation come in just
now from Michelle Celestino.
They'll post it on Facebook so people can
(37:12):
see, but Michelle donated $25.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you, Michelle.
And to Lindsay, I didn't get a chance
to thank you.
$25 is amazing.
Every, I mean, it all adds up.
You know, we couldn't have done any of
this without all the small donations adding up.
So, you know, we had a, there was
a, back in 2020, that, you know, the
BBC filmed a show about us trying to
(37:33):
build the sanctuary and we never even got
to building the sanctuary.
But when it aired in the UK, we
were able to raise, I think in the
first three weeks, it aired over three weeks,
about a quarter million dollars.
And it was almost primarily from small donations.
Just small ones that added up.
Like $5, $10, $25, 50.
(37:55):
So every, I mean, we really mean it.
I mean, every amount, every donation counts.
Every dollar helps us take care of these
guys.
And so we're just so grateful for anyone
who cares enough.
Again, Jane, you mentioned, you know, that we're
over here on our own and it's hard
(38:16):
for us to reach out.
So this exposure is great, but it's more
than the money too.
It's, you mentioned the community.
It makes us feel like we're connecting with
people that we're not alone over here.
Of course, we have our amazing, we have
a lot of Liberian friends and our amazing
team here.
We're not alone in that sense.
But in the sense of trying to raise
the money and trying to build this place
(38:38):
and to save the species, you know, these
guys are rapidly going extinct.
So it's these individuals, but it's also all
the other chimps out there that we're trying
to protect as well.
So we can't- And that's what raises
a question.
Tom says, I believe chimps are endangered.
Aren't they given government protection?
Yes.
So in Liberia, they have some of the
(39:00):
stronger protections here than they have in the
U.S., by the way.
No one here is allowed to kill a
chimp.
No one is allowed to have a chimp
as a pet.
So it's been a matter of, you know,
it's just like anything, right?
Drugs or anything else.
We, it's about, we made the laws stricter.
We had to build enforcement.
No one really even was aware of what
(39:21):
was going on and the extent to what
was happening.
And there are the good guys and the
bad guys, just like everything, right?
There are the commercial traders who are just
making money, just like a drug dealer.
The people buying pets over in the Middle
East or China or in the U.S.
or wherever it is for entertainment to use
as pets, to put in circuses.
So yeah, it's illegal here, but just with
(39:43):
everything that's illegal, it's really hard work to
get the laws to be enforced.
And in addition to that, we don't really
wanna do law enforcement.
We wanna work with communities and work with
our neighbours to really want to also protect
these chimpanzees because most Liberians don't wanna kill
chimpanzees either.
So.
This is fantastic.
(40:05):
I have to say, people have all sorts
of questions.
Do you work with Jane Goodall?
Yes, we do.
We know her very well.
Yes.
So the Jane Goodall Institute has helped us
with a bunch of different projects.
We've known the Jane Goodall Institute for years
and worked with them.
But I just wanna make the point, they
(40:25):
have two of their own sanctuaries.
So they really aren't in a position to
help us financially with our sanctuary because they're
keeping two going on, so.
Exactly.
Absolutely.
You know, you are doing such extraordinary work.
And tell me about your backstory.
Where are you from in the United States?
I know you're a veterinarian, Dr. Desmond.
Tell us about how you, prior to getting
(40:48):
the calls, hey, come to Africa for a
month to help these chimps that were abandoned
after being used in biomedical research and thought
you were going there for a month.
And you ended up being there for 10
years and now you have 115 children, essentially
chimpanzee children.
But what is your backstory?
(41:09):
Tell us about yourselves.
So I grew up in Maine.
Jenny grew up in California.
And we met in Boston and it was
kind of- We weren't doing this work
at all when we met.
It was pretty much love at first sight.
We got married pretty quickly and we went
on this round-the-world trip.
(41:29):
It was like an extended honeymoon.
You know, we saved money and we'll do
a backpack around the world and we'll settle
down.
And on that trip, by chance, we ended
up volunteering at this orangutan rehabilitation centre in
Borneo.
And that was a life-changing event.
Jenny found a way.
She'd always wanted to work with animals but
(41:50):
didn't find a way that she felt comfortable
with.
But a sanctuary was something that she did.
And for me, there was a veterinarian there
doing research on zoonotic diseases, so disease transfer
between humans and animals.
And I was so fascinated with it that
human diseases could impact the great apes.
And so that set us on this odyssey,
(42:12):
you know, to where we are now, where
I went to vet school and we volunteered
in all these places around the world and
eventually ended up here, where, you know, I
still do the disease work, but we built
this whole sanctuary.
And yeah, here we are.
That's the quick CliffsNotes version.
Okay, we have two donations that just came
(42:32):
in.
Michelle Celestino, I just donated.
And she also said she donated $25 in
another text.
And Annie Abram has donated.
And again, yes, let's keep those pledges and
donations coming in.
And to recap, boy, there are so many
donations.
(42:53):
This broadcast has so far raised over $11
,000.
That's amazing.
There is a match.
There is a match.
Niloufar has said she would match $1,000.
So let's get that match in.
We can do 500 and 500.
Let's go back to Donnie Moss for a
second, because Donnie, full disclosure, I was living
(43:17):
in New York when you decided to take
on the New York Blood Centre for abandoning
these chintz after using them for biomedical research.
And everybody said, you know, you're not gonna
be able to make a difference.
And you did.
(43:37):
But you did some very intense demonstrations, buy
-ins at the New York Blood Centre, which
I was there.
I don't know if I actually went on
the ground.
I think I was reporting it for my
fledgling, a nonprofit news network.
But you did the impossible.
Tell us how you got, tell us what
(44:00):
you did and how you did it.
So when we learned that the Blood Centre
abandoned these chintz and that the Blood Centre
was this extraordinarily wealthy organisation that we believe
earned about a billion dollars in royalties off
the research that they conducted on these chintz,
it was just an outrage.
(44:21):
And so when we, and you were there,
Jane, for one of the first protests where
we staged a disruption in the lobby of
the New York Blood Centre, after that was
an escalation.
We were polite first and that didn't work.
And then when we got nowhere with the
New York Blood Centre, we started to go
after their corporate donors, of course, starting out
politely.
And then after being ignored, escalating and escalating
(44:42):
to the point that we got IBM, MetLife
and Citigroup to, as far as I know,
this never happens, make public statements sort of
condemning the Blood Centre for abandoning the chintz.
And Citigroup went so far as to donate
$50,000 toward the care of these chintz.
(45:02):
I just wanna clarify, again, these are not
the chintz that the Desmonds are taking care
of now.
These are the chintz that were abandoned on
islands on a nearby river in Liberia.
So that campaign was two years.
It was very stressful and it ended with
a $6 million grant from the New York
Blood Centre for the lifelong care of those
(45:24):
chintz.
The Desmonds didn't see a penny of that
money for the chintz who are now in
their care.
And the campaign that I ran, while difficult,
pales in comparison to the work that I've
seen the Desmonds doing on the ground in
Liberia.
You know, one of the things that amazes
me was that in 2015, when they answered
the call to go there in this crisis
(45:45):
situation to, you know, get food and water
and systems in place to care for the
chintz abandoned on the islands, they went there
during an Ebola outbreak.
I mean, it was a scary time.
Liberia throughout the decades has been riddled with
civil unrest.
And here they sort of dropped what they
were doing, moved to Liberia, again, with a
plan to stay for five weeks.
(46:07):
They are not supposed to be there now,
almost 10 years later, but they've stayed and
now they're stuck.
And truth be told, until they have an
endowment, which will ensure that the chintz have
enough money to cover the cost of living
and the salaries of all their employees for
60 years, which is how long these chintz
(46:28):
can live, the Desmonds are stuck there.
And so sort of, I feel an obligation
and a desire being somebody on the ground
in the US to try and spread the
word here as much as I can, because
they just don't have the networks that so
many of the other sanctuaries like the Jane
Goodall sanctuaries have.
And so, and as I mentioned earlier, it
(46:50):
just, it bears repeating that phase one of
their sanctuary, night houses, you know, basic infrastructure,
nursery have been built, but they desperately need
to embark on phase two, which will allow
the adult chintz to get out into the
forest, climb trees and do what they are
(47:12):
designed to do.
All of these chintz, all 115 chintz and
the chintz who will invariably come in in
the coming days, months and years, they're gonna
spend their lives at this sanctuary.
And the Desmonds wanna be sure that their
sanctuary mimics to whatever extent possible their natural
habitat, which is the forest.
And until the adults can get out into
(47:35):
the forest, into climb trees and express their
natural behaviours, they're stuck.
And so, there's a sense of urgency, not
only to cover their operating expenses, to feed
their chintz and pay the salaries, but also
expand the sanctuary with phase two and build
an endowment.
It's a lot.
And so if whoever can help, we just
(47:57):
need their help.
Wow.
This is extraordinary.
I wanna ask a couple of questions.
Are you still in contact with the BBC?
Because I see this as a great follow
-up story.
As a journalist myself, wow.
I would jump on this as a follow
-up.
(48:18):
What can you do to convince them?
Because that could go a long way.
We are talking to them.
Yes.
We want to see if they can re
-air the first episodes, like back on their
iPlayer and distributed out.
And we are talking to them about doing
a follow-up.
They were going to do a part two,
but that was when COVID hit and all
(48:39):
their production stopped.
So it was really bad timing on that.
So we are talking to them, Jane, and
we would love to do another show.
It just brought so much, not only donations,
but mostly exposure and awareness as well about
what's going on here.
So yes, of course, we would love to
do another one.
And we are talking to them.
(49:00):
But I think whether it's BBC or someone
else, we'd love to do a follow-up.
Absolutely.
And let's see Grace again.
She's hiding behind her blanket.
She's getting sleepy.
I'm sure.
I'm sure.
Because it's dark now.
Now, what's the rehabilitation process?
(49:21):
You said she was literally paralysed.
Look how she clings to you.
It's so moving.
How did you enable her to become well
-adjusted and happy and giggle despite the trauma
that she witnessed of her mother being killed
in front of her?
Well, I'll have to give her some credit
(49:42):
because these chimpanzees, they're so inspiring.
They're so resilient.
They really teach us about how we can
survive pretty much anything because they do.
But we have a really intensive care programme.
Our caregivers are amazing.
They're just like what you see here.
We give them 24-hour intensive care.
They come in and they get moms.
(50:02):
Sometimes they have to share a mom or
two, but they get moms, they get love,
and they're with other chimpanzees.
And we just, you know, that's what turns
them around.
I mean, with Grace, we needed to do
some more physical stuff.
Of course, Jimmy's a vet.
He gets them kind of healthy again.
They often come in, they're dehydrated.
Some of them have broken legs.
We've had many come in with broken bones,
(50:23):
broken arms, broken legs from shrapnel, or they've
fallen out of the tree with their moms
and broken bones.
We've had them where they've had cuts on
their heads from falling.
So lots of different injuries.
So it's kind of hearing that physical piece,
but the most important piece for chimps, just
like I think it would be just the
same for us, right, with human orphans, is
(50:44):
that just that TLC, just that constant love
and care.
They sleep with their caregivers.
They are with them all day.
If you get up, you carry them with
you, just like their moms would.
So we really try and replicate what they'd
have with their moms as much as possible,
you know.
We're getting questions as people join.
I know you told this story, but Gail
Thornberry wants to know, where did you get
(51:05):
her from?
Can you tell the backstory of this particular
Grace, this chimpanzee?
So Grace came from near the border with
Cote d'Ivoire.
So she was probably on her way to
be sold out to someone else.
The far Eastern part of Liberia, which is
very forested area and a town called Fishtown,
(51:26):
actually.
And one of the rangers who was in
that area heard a rumour that there was
a chimpanzee and they went and confiscated her
from the people who were keeping her as
a pet or who were keeping her to
sell.
Maybe they were trying to get her across
the border.
(51:48):
And so once we heard about it-
And what about her mother?
What about Grace's mother?
Grace's mother was killed.
And if you, I mean, you can't see,
but Grace has, there's several scars where you
can see where the pellets went into her
body and you can even still feel-
You can feel them.
You can feel multiple pellets, shotgun pellets that
are embedded under her skin.
In her muscle.
(52:11):
So, and Grace's, you know, they all come,
they all come at least traumatised, you know,
psychologically traumatised because of what they've been through.
And often they have physical damage or they're
sick.
(52:31):
Grace is one of the worst cases because
she was actually paralysed.
And it's amazing that she's been able to
recover as much as she has.
And we hope she'll continue to gain strength
and function in her arm and her left
arm and leg.
And the thing is, Jenny was mentioning, you
know, how we provide 24-hour care.
(52:53):
You know, Grace, you know, chimpanzees, the physical
contact.
So you have to imagine, this is why
we try and simulate what their life is
like in the wild.
You have to imagine that a baby chimpanzee
is in 24-7 physically connected to the
mom, like constantly touching the mom's body.
Because if they get left behind in the
(53:16):
forest by their group, they're gonna die.
They're not gonna make it.
And so for the first like really three
years of their life, they barely move more
than a few metres away from their mom
or their aunties.
They're always very close by because- Yeah,
if I get up right now, which I
wouldn't do it, but if I got up
(53:36):
right now, she would scream and she would
absolutely go crazy.
I would never do it.
But I mean, if I just stood up
quickly for some reason to go walk away,
she doesn't sit here.
It's not like a human baby where they
might sit on the couch and watch you
while you do things.
Their instinct and their whole emotional attachment with
(53:56):
their moms is to hold on to mom.
To hold on for dear life, basically.
We just got another donation.
Kim Delgado just donated.
Thank you, Kim.
Thank you.
Keep these donations coming in.
We're just about at the end of our
show.
I could go on for hours.
I am so moved by the work you
(54:19):
do, by the generosity of our viewers.
Wow.
Please keep these donations coming.
$25, $10, it all counts.
And I wanna thank Donnie Moss for making
this happen, really reaching out to me and
saying, hey, these folks need help.
(54:41):
Thank you, Donnie, for that.
Thank you for doing this.
Yeah, I mean, thank you for all the
work you're doing.
It's absolutely amazing.
115 chimps.
I'm just gonna say it one more time.
Please, guys, I've donated.
We've gotten a bunch of people to donate,
but they need more donations.
(55:02):
$5, $10, $15, $20, $25.
Please, LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate.
And I'm just absolutely touched by the work
you do.
God bless you.
Keep it up.
We, I hope the BBC does the video
(55:24):
and we will stay on top of your
story.
So come back soon.
Thank you so much.
Because- Thank you, Donnie.
Thank you to all the donors and everyone
who watched.
And just, yeah, we're filled with gratitude tonight.
Thank you.
I am absolutely just so touched and moved.
So of course, as we wrap up, we
(55:45):
tell everybody, please download Unchained TV.
We are the world's only vegan animal rights
streaming television network.
And it's a lot of fun.
It's totally free.
Check it out.
This episode is brought to you by Unchained
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Unchained TV is a nonprofit organisation producing plant
(56:05):
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