Visiting

The foundation was set up by vet Olga Feliu in 2000 in Riudellots de la Selva with the aim of seeking an end to the exploitation of primates in captivity. It is the only centre of its kind in Spain, a country whose proximity to Africa makes it an easy point of entry for the illegal shipping of these animals, and is currently home to 12 chimpanzees and three macaques rescued from various travelling circuses, a zoo, a circus trainer and other individuals who kept the animals for television work or as pets.

Nearly all of the animals at Mona bear mental and physical scars from their former lives and behind each and every one is a heartbreaking tale of human ignorance and abuse.

Female chimpanzee Romie, for instance, was born in the wild but then captured and sold to a photographer who took pictures of her with tourists on beaches in the Canary Islands. She was later sold on to a circus trainer and, when deemed too old to perform, was locked in a lorry and used for breeding.

“Chimpanzees have a bond with their offspring that lasts for life,” said Cristina Valsera, one of the head keepers at Mona. “Romie’s babies were all taken away from her soon after birth. Two of her babies, Sara and Nico, came to the centre in 2004 but she does not remember them. Too much time has passed.”

Sara was used on a late-night television show where she appeared as a baby dressed in nappies. When she arrived at Mona she had three broken ribs and deformed teeth. “She is extremely traumatised,” said Valsera. “She was living in a cage and if she misbehaved she was hit by the trainer. When she is upset she bangs herself against a wall.”

Her brother Nico was also in a very poor state when he was rescued and just as humans bite their nails when nervous, he would bite his hand. When he realised this behaviour earned him the attention of the keepers, he kept doing it. It was only later that they realised he had no feeling in his hand and discovered he suffers from a rare genetic disorder in which parts of the brain are formed abnormally. As well as operations to treat his condition, Nico has had to have four of his fingers amputated in the past two years.