7: The number of years Tommy the chimpanzee spent in a cage on a used trailer lot in New York before his owner transferred him to the DeYoung Family Zoo, seemingly to escape further public scrutiny and further litigation from the Nonhuman Rights Project. Tommy died in the DeYoung Family Zoo in 2022, “curled up in his sleeping spot” inside a building.
127: The number of pages in our habeas corpus complaint demanding that the Michigan courts recognize the right to liberty of the seven chimpanzees held captive in the DeYoung Family Zoo and order their release to an accredited chimpanzee sanctuary.
359: The number of pages of declarations and exhibits submitted by chimpanzee cognition and behavior experts in support of this case–testifying to chimpanzees’ autonomy, their physical and psychological need for freedom, and the suffering chimpanzees could be expected to experience in an environment like the DeYoung Family Zoo.
5: The number of days after we filed our complaint that a Michigan trial court judge dismissed it.
1: The number of sentences in the Michigan trial court judge’s decision.
6: The number of weeks old Louie the chimpanzee was when the DeYoung Family Zoo purchased him from an unknown source. From a young age, Louie appears to have been isolated from other chimpanzees. Until Louie was at least two, the DeYoung Family Zoo kept Louie on a leash and used him in photo opportunities and interactions with zoo patrons.
8: The current age of a female chimpanzee who was born in the DeYoung Family Zoo and removed from her mother as an infant to be hand-raised by humans.
3: The number of years a free-living chimpanzee infant is highly dependent on and in close physical contact with her mother, as presented in an expert declaration in support of this case by Jane Goodall.
5: The number of chimpanzees held captive in the DeYoung Family Zoo who are believed to have been purchased from the Missouri Primate Foundation, a notorious, now-shuttered chimpanzee breeding facility shown in the documentary Chimp Crazy.
7: The number of years since the DeYoung Family Zoo shared any photos of the chimpanzees on its Facebook page.
2: The minimum number of years the chimpanzee section of the DeYoung Family Zoo has been closed off from public view.
0: The number of changes the USDA has compelled the DeYoung Family Zoo to make to its treatment of chimpanzees.
98.7: The percentage of DNA chimpanzees share with humans—closer than any other species on Earth.
65: The number of years since Jane Goodall began observing wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania—a study that continues to this day and fundamentally changed how we see animals and what it means to be human.
15: The number of minutes allotted to the NhRP to argue our appeal on Tuesday.
3: Days remaining until the hearing.
