ONE WOMAN'S MISSION TO SAVE THE MONKEYS

Article in The Daily Express

Monday February 4,2008

"LAST WEEK Dr Alison Cronin freed dozens of tortured primates from an appalling ‘prison’, flying them to her Dorset sanctuary. Here she reveals the joy and the anguish of rescuing the world’s mistreated animals.

A few days ago they were liberated and flown 7,200 miles to settle into a new life in vast enclosures, in 65 acres deep in the Dorset countryside. Their new VIP home is the renowned ape sanctuary Monkey World and the woman who has masterminded the year-long operation – the world’s largest ever rescue of primates – is the director of the centre, Dr Alison Cronin.

Daily Express Photo, Alison pictured with a rescued monkey from the lab in Chile

Alison, 40, has dedicated her life to the recovery and rehabilitation of mistreated chimps, monkeys and orangutans, but this case shocked even her. “I’ve been in and out of a load of labs and this was the worst I’ve ever seen. They were using the monkeys for various experiments, such as the testing of pharmaceuticals, and the conditions were shocking. It was appalling.

She and her husband Jim had been planning to take in 35 of the capuchins after the lab in Santiago contacted them in 2006, saying they would otherwise be put down. Jim sadly died from cancer last year but Alison resolved to carry on with the vast undertaking and even expanded its objectives. When she discovered the rest of the monkeys were to be destroyed, she decided to rescue them all."

 By Julie Carpenter, for The Daily Express Monday 4th February 2008

Read the full article please click www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/33800

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