Lisa Marie the chimpanzee is freed according to PETA
By:   //  US News

Lisa Marie, the chimpanzee who lived with an Elvis impersonator under deplorable conditions has been freed, according to PETA.

Lisa Marie was born on January 8, 2007, at a notorious chimpanzee breeding facility in Missouri. Although chimpanzees live in maternal familial groups and in nature Lisa Marie would still be with her mother, her breeders tore her away from her mom little more than a month after she was born,” PETA reported.

The breeders shipped her off to an Elvis impersonator in Chicago who used her in his shows as well as in other traveling shows at schools, parks, and nursing homes. When she wasn’t being hauled around by a leash and forced to perform for human amusement, she was often relegated to a tiny cage in a cramped basement and made to wear a collar with a padlock on it.

An attempt to free Lisa Marie was made by Lisa Marie Presley, who wrote to the chimpanzee’s owner in 2009 urging the chimp retire to a reputable sanctuary. The owner never responded and Lisa Marie was forced to continue as an amusement figure.

In September, with the assistance of a PETA patron, Lisa Marie was rescued and transferred to the lush, spacious Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida.

“She was painfully thin, pale from lack of sunlight, and weak from having had few opportunities to exercise. Yet she was brave and boisterous during the 18-hour drive. Once at the sanctuary, she swung along the side of her temporary enclosure and climbed all the way to the top of the fencing, where she gazed out over her new home,” PETA reported.

“A few weeks after Lisa Marie arrived, the chimpanzee experts at the sanctuary determined that it was safe to start introducing her to other chimpanzees. So far, she has met several others and has instantly bonded with them. When Lisa Marie met Ariel, Ariel immediately embraced her and is now teaching her how to behave among other chimpanzees.”

PETA rescues animals that are abused and advocates for animal rights.

Image: Flickr: Tambako the Jaguar

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