Dear John,
Many of us go through each day with the ability to choose what we do, where we go, and who we spend time with—or whose calls we ignore! And though animals don’t have to worry about the last item on that list, for a large number of animals on earth, even choosing what to eat or when to wake up isn’t an option.
In Michigan, at the DeYoung Family Zoo, chimpanzees are locked in an unnatural environment for their entire lives, depriving them of the ability to make basic decisions regarding their own lives. Their continued captivity isn’t an exception among animals but an expected result of a legal system that continues to view them as “things” despite their cognitive, emotional, and social complexity.
As nonhuman animal rights advocates, you and I are committed to changing that. We aren’t asking for better conditions or more humane enclosures. We’re asking policymakers to acknowledge what the scientific community already knows and what common sense suggests: autonomous beings have a right to liberty. Just like humans do.
Your support helps our arguments move forward through bold, unique litigation that forces the judicial system to resolve contradictions within its own framework. Your support helps the ongoing fight to trade imprisonment for liberty.
If you’re able, will you make a gift today? All donations made today will be matched! As a nonprofit, we depend on the support of people like you: humans who care about others, especially the most vulnerable in our society. And today is the last chance to make a donation to our end-of-year campaign and have it doubled.
The fight for animal freedom is demanding and often slow, but every step forward matters. Your support ensures that animals like the DeYoung chimpanzees aren’t forgotten—and that the promise of freedom remains within reach.
