In Defense of Animals’ sanctuary – the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center – in the Republic of Cameroon is all grown up and leaving home!

In 1999, In Defense of Animals founded a life saving and life changing program for chimpanzees. Dr. Sheri Speede was appointed to undertake the vital work of rescuing and protecting chimpanzees from traffickers, bush meat hunters, and habitat loss due to logging, mining and expanding human population. Now, our beloved sanctuary is blossoming into its own independent charitable organization, Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue!

Almost two decades ago, we rescued the first chimpanzees and brought them into our beautiful sanctuary deep in the heart of Cameroon’s Mbargue Forest. The safe haven would soon be named the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, based on its location near the confluence of the Sanaga and Yong Rivers.

Ever since, we have been hard at work rescuing orphaned and illegally trafficked chimpanzees. We have saved many lives and provided a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for those animals. Beyond that, we have successfully campaigned to conserve large tracts of land for our sanctuary, as well as preserve life-sustaining forests for free-living chimpanzees and other animals.

We are proud of our collaborations with locals, and our work to educate local children and people around the world. We have even played a role in developing and sustaining local economies.

Our sanctuary is now embarking on the next stage in its evolution. Under Dr. Speede’s continued direction, the sanctuary is beginning to operate as its own independent nonprofit organization, aptly named Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue, after the sanctuary in Cameroon.

So many of the successes In Defense of Animals has achieved in Africa have been made possible thanks to you, our supporters and friends who have been by our side. We look to the future of the sanctuary we founded with excitement, confident that under Dr. Speede’s leadership there is hope for the survival of our closest cousins.