Help Limbani! PETA Offers $10,000 Reward for Tips That Free Exploited Chimpanzee From Local Roadside Zoo

For Immediate Release:
September 9, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

On the heels of Sunday’s finale of Chimp Crazy—the HBO docuseries that highlights the dangers and cruelty inherent in private ownership of chimpanzees—PETA is offering a $10,000 reward for evidence that results in the confiscation by law-enforcement authorities of Limbani the chimpanzee from the custody of Zoological Wildlife Foundation. Limbani is one of the last chimpanzees in the U.S. kept in isolation from others of his own species at the notorious roadside zoo featured in Tiger King and owned by former drug kingpin and convicted felon Mario Tabraue.

Limbani, who was torn away from his mother as an infant, was exploited for photo ops and dangerous public encounters at Zoological Wildlife Foundation, which was issued a warning by state authorities in 2020 after a child was bitten by the chimpanzee, causing a deep laceration that required stitches. At the time, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advised the facility to stop allowing public contact with the 40 plus–pound chimpanzee, but evidence from social media indicates that it continued—even as Limbani grew larger, stronger, and more dangerous.

“Chimp Crazy shows that powerful primates aren’t playthings, and disaster could strike at any minute as long as Limbani remains in the clutches of Zoological Wildlife Foundation,” says PETA Foundation General Counsel Brittany Peet. “PETA has already rescued several chimpanzees and assisted in their transfers to accredited sanctuaries and is now asking the public to help PETA rescue Limbani—before it’s too late.”

Limbani is held in isolation at Zoological Wildlife Foundation.

PETA has facilitated the rescues of 24 chimpanzees—including seven who, having been held in solitary confinement, were given the opportunity to thrive in a sanctuary environment with other chimpanzees. The group encourages everyone to support the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban private ownership, private breeding, and all commercial activity involving primates used in the pet trade.

The group is offering the same reward for information leading to the confiscation of any of the other (fewer than 100) chimpanzees across the country who are still languishing at roadside zoos or in the pet trade—including Bow, the last solitary chimpanzee held in a private home, and Ricky, a chimpanzee exploited for photo shoots and commercials by the notorious exhibitor Pam Rosaire-Zoppe.

Whistleblowers with information about Bow, Limbani, Ricky, or other captive chimpanzees are encouraged to contact PETA.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.