Welcome to NAPSA

The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) was founded in 2010 by the directors of seven of the leading chimpanzee sanctuaries on the continent. The mission of NAPSA is “to advance the welfare of captive primates through exceptional sanctuary care, collaboration and outreach.”

Although modeled in part after the Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), NAPSA member sanctuaries and North America’s primates face an entirely different set of challenges than their African counterparts. While PASA-member sanctuaries care for primates orphaned in the wild, NAPSA member sanctuaries provide lifelong homes to primates who have been victims of biomedical research, the entertainment industry or the exotic pet trade.

With chimpanzees as the common denominator among the founding members, and the current atmosphere of hope surrounding the future use of chimps in biomedical research and the entertainment industry, the early focus of NAPSA has been on chimp-related issues.  However, with the construction of the organization’s infrastructure complete, NAPSA is now in a position to expand its ranks by accepting applications for membership from primate sanctuaries across the continent.  Once that expansion has been completed, and all those sanctuaries which can meet the rigorous criteria for membership have come on board, NAPSA member sanctuaries will be able to speak with one unified, powerful voice on behalf of all of North America’s primate population.

 

 

Before they were released from biomedical research and arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), the Cle Elum Seven, known individually as Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra, had spent their entire lives living in laboratories. The video at left shows their first steps out onto Young's Hill, a recent two acre expansion of CSNW.