FESTUS • People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced Tuesday its intent to sue a Festus facility that houses chimpanzees and other primates over allegedly unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
The animal rights group says it is giving the Missouri Primate Foundation 60 days notice of its lawsuit as required by the Endangered Species Act. PETA alleges the business at 12338 Highway CC is housing at least 16 chimpanzees in "filthy, virtually barren enclosures" without adequate space to climb and roam.
The foundation's owner, Connie Braun Casey, could not be reached for comment. Years ago, Casey and her then-husband ran the foundation as well as Chimparty, a now closed business that provided chimpanzees for parties, television ads and movies. Casey also houses a baboon and about a dozen other species of monkeys.
Brittany Peet, a lawyer for PETA, says the goal of the pending lawsuit is to persuade Casey to give up her animals, and at no cost to her, and have them transferred to an accredited chimpanzee sanctuary. Peet said a former Missouri Primate Foundation volunteer notified PETA about the Festus facility
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"These chimpanzees are suffering and we want to work with her to do the right thing," Peet said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 10 inspections since January 2014 found more than a dozen violations regarding trash, cockroaches, scattered feces, animal hair-loss and poor ventilation.
In 2001, a neighbor of the property fatally shot 28-year-old chimp named Suzy that had escaped from an unlocked cage.
