UnchainedTV: HELP! American Couple Needs Help Caring for 100+ Chimps

0:00 Main TV free streaming network, Jane Valez Mitchell. You're about to hear a secret solution to the problems that plague our world. If you want to revolutionise your health, get truly joyful and jump to the next phase of human evolution, all it takes is one simple choice. Now, here's your host, Jane Valez Mitchell. Welcome, we have breaking news for you. This is an extraordinary story. We are going live to Africa, where we are going to meet the Desmonds, who are taking care of more than a hundred chimps. These chimps are orphaned from the bushmeat trade, from the illegal wildlife trade.

0:44 Now, they were asked back in 2015 to go to Liberia, which is in Africa, to save the lives of 66 chimpanzees abandoned after biomedical research. Well, they got there, they thought they'd be there for about a month, and guess what happened? People started coming to them with chimps that they had rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. Look at these innocent beings, these angels. Those are actually the chimps that were used in biomedical research. Here are some of the orphaned chimps. And so they stayed, and now 10 years later, they have about 115 chimps in their care, and dozens of employees in neighbouring villages.

1:30 They need help. Now, they were on a fantastic three-part BBC series about their conservation and rescue work. That brought them some donations, but those donations have run out, and they keep getting inundated with these innocent angels, and they need help. They have to raise many thousands of dollars before the end of the year. These are hungry mouths to feed. So without further ado, we're gonna go straight out to Africa Live and talk to the one and only Dr. Jim Desmond and Jenny Desmond, who are there with a baby chimp.

2:11 Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This is Grace. Can you hold her up a little bit? Seeing her from over the banner, thank you. Look at little Grace, look at that. Go ahead. Gracie. She's tired. It's her bedtime. Yeah, yeah. It's actually dark over here, believe it or not. Let's cut right to the chase. We're gonna get your fascinating backstory in a second, but what help do you need? How many chimps are you taking care of, and how can we help? Well, we have 115 chimpanzees, and that we've rescued over the last almost 10 years.

2:54 And we're sort of bursting at the seams. We're sort of desperate for cash. We built an entire sanctuary, thanks to a lot of amazing help from donors. But we need to expand the sanctuary, and we also need help with operations. So it costs about $40,000 a month to run the sanctuary, so almost half a million dollars a year. And then to expand the sanctuary, it's gonna take another probably $750,000. So about a million dollars is what we need that will help us get through the next year, get 250 to the end of the year, but then another 750 to build the infrastructure we need.

3:35 So that will give the chimps, a lot of the young ones get to go to the forest every day, but some of our older ones don't have access until we build this next phase of the sanctuary. Of infrastructure. And I wanna put up immediately where you can donate. You can go to LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate. We're gonna put this up throughout the hour. Look at that angel. These are babies. Tell me about this little girl, Grace. So Grace has a great story, actually. She's our little miracle baby. I mean, we actually have quite a few miracles here because as you know, all of the chimps who arrived here, their mothers were killed. So they're all orphans and they've all witnessed great trauma.

4:18 So they're all miracles that they recover and decide to live and are happy. But Grace, in particular, she arrived and half of her was really quickly realised she was very weak, but as she was getting stronger mentally and physically, we realised her left side was completely paralysed. So what we think happened is she got an injury when her mom was shot because a lot of times they get shrapnel and pellets in their bodies. And then we think since she couldn't move, the people who had her just put her in a box and left her there for probably months or a year or however long she was there. Yeah, I know. And so by the time she got to us, she was not only paralysed, but it's like she had forgotten she even had an arm or a leg.

5:00 And we just didn't know if she was gonna, we didn't know if she'd survive, but we figured once she was strong enough to survive, then we really got to work thinking about whether we could figure out how to, sorry, to rehabilitate her. And we started doing physical therapy. Our team did amazing physical therapy. We've been doing this now for about four months or five months. And she just the other day climbed up a rope and into a tree. So- Yeah, which is amazing. We were- Everyone was cheering. Everyone was cheering. Our caregivers were singing and dancing. So it was very exciting for everybody. Right, Christine? And Jenny, your mommy, right? I mean, in their hearts and minds, you've become mom.

5:45 Yeah, yeah. Tell us about that. We are, we have an amazing caregiving team, but yeah, you know, in the wild, they would be with their mom full time. I mean, she would still be with her mom, sleeping with their mom. She'd still be nursing for another, probably three years or more. So when they come, you know, they've not only seen their moms die, but they have also really just, I mean, they want to cling to somebody, but by the time we get them, they've usually been abused and neglected also because they're being sold into the pet trade. And it's just, you know, they need somebody to really bring them back to life. And that's what our caregiving team does. So we're a mom and they're a mom.

6:27 And yeah, we're all moms together. Now, let me ask you a question. What about the Liberian government? I mean, shouldn't the Liberian government come in and say they're apparently bringing you a lot of these animals. Shouldn't they come in and say, hey, and people are saying, please put up the address to donate. Yes, let me put that up right now because that's the next step in doing this. We need to get donations in. And I don't want to say this to say it, but to encourage others, I donated $1,000 because- Yes, you did, thank you. The reason is I look at these faces and, oh my God, if you weren't there helping them, what would possibly happen to these angels?

7:14 These are our closest relatives to Homo sapiens. I mean, look at that face. And you're taking care of 115. It broke my heart, but also I was like, I want to do everything I can to help you. So tell us again about what a donation will do. So, I mean, every donation helps, whether it's $5 or $10 or $1,000. Money goes a long way here in Liberia. We employ a lot of people. So it also, we work really closely with the community.

7:55 We employ about 40 people, about almost 30 of them are caregivers. And it really enriches their lives. They're able to put their kids through school. They're able to build houses. And it rains a lot here in Liberia. You know, Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world. That's sort of why the government can't help us. I just, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted you, I don't know if you'll be able to see or hear this, but Gracie is laughing a little bit here. Yes, I see a question for about a 501c3. And yes, we have a 501c3 in the United States. So if you donate through the website, we are a tax exempt organisation. So she's laughing. She's laughing.

8:35 Oh my gosh. This is like pre-bedtime tickles, just like humans. Oh my gosh. Look at that angel. Look at that angel. And this couple is caring for 115 of them in Liberia. And it reminds me of that song, a three hour tour. You were there for 10 years taking care of these babies and people bring you the babies, right? They, I mean. Yes. Including the government. So we've progressed a lot here. You mentioned the government. So I wanted to address that, that Liberia is one of the poorest countries.

9:18 It's an amazing country. The people here are amazing, but you know, the government just doesn't have money to spare, but we do work really closely with the government. We've been able to change laws and policies. We're protecting, we're establishing new protected areas for Chimp Habitat. We do a lot of community work and engage with our communities. And we employ a lot of people and work with our team's amazing. We do a tonne of awareness. So we work really closely with the government, but financially that burden is on us. Like that will always be on us. So we're looking at money that we need to raise now. Like Jimmy said, the 250,000 before the end of the year, and then to finish our next phase of infrastructure.

10:00 And then of course, eventually, you know, we want to set up an endowment for these guys. So every dollar counts, whether it's to buy some Seralac for little Gracie or some fruits and vegetables or to pay a caregiver salary, fuel to go get fruits and all our supplies. So everything, I mean, from a dollar to a thousand dollars to $10,000, anything helps. And just so to like lay out some of the numbers so people understand, it costs about $6,000 a month for fresh fruits and vegetables. Another $1,000 for, we give them like a baby porridge. Jenny just mentioned Seralac. And we do that because there's not great, it's not a wide variety of foods here in Liberia.

10:42 There's really poor agricultural systems. So we do that. So they're getting, you know, fortified baby cereal essentially. So they're getting all their vitamins and minerals. And then our salaries costs, it's about $15 ,000 a month to employ everybody. And then all the other things that go along with it, such as keeping the vehicles going and vehicle maintenance and keeping the site going. So site maintenance and things like that. So we're just grateful for any donations that people can give. It really helps us take care of these guys. Our main goal is to, you know, our main number one goal, our mission is to get people, get people to stop hunting the chimpanzees, stop wild chimpanzees from being killed.

11:24 So we stop receiving orphans. But once you receive, once we get little people like Grace, you know, then we have to provide them a good life. And what we try and do is give them as close an approximation to their, what life they would have in the wild. So they're with other chimps, they're with surrogate moms, human moms, and then they get to spend their days in the forest. I hate to cover up that baby to say live from Africa and to say where to donate, but that's, there we go. Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org. And I did it.

12:04 It takes a second. They are a 501c3 in the United States. So you do get the tax deduction and everybody. Okay, so we've got some pledges coming in. Nilo Farr has pledged $250. Thank you. And Tiffany Baker, I believe said she's donating now. And Tiffany says, I'm donating now. So I actually said that I was gonna call Nilo Farr and let her weigh in a little bit. And so we're gonna see if she picks up. Nilo Farr has pledged to donate 250.

12:46 Nilo Farr, you are live. First of all, thank you for your $250 pledge. Go and go straight to Liberianchimpanzeerescue.org forward slash donate and make that happen. What are your thoughts and questions for the Desmonds? First, I wanna acknowledge Unchained TV and their turn for shedding light on the story of the rescued Liberian chimps. These chimps are survivors of junk science and it's shameful that decades of, after decades of painful and invasive medical procedures, the New York Blood Centre failed to honour its commitment. Oh my God, wait a second.

13:27 I have to jump in. We've got breaking news. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I'm gonna cry. Oh my God. Me too. That is amazing. My husband and I will be donating $10 ,000 through our charitable donation. Oh my gosh, I'm gonna cry. I really am gonna cry. I'm gonna cry now. That's amazing. This is just so beautiful. Thank you, Mick. Thank you, Mick. That is so beautiful. Oh my God. Honestly, it's so, so, I mean, thank you for your generosity. It means the world to us. You've got everyone crying here. And to all our babies that we take care of.

14:11 Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Maybe we can get them on the phone, but I have to say, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. What can we say, Dion? Thank you, God bless you for doing this. This is unbelievable. Really. I mean, I have seen so many horrible things. When I saw these baby chips and I saw their faces, it's, they're children. They are children. They are. The idea that you're doing this with 115 children on your own.

14:52 I mean, I just said to myself, and Donny, thank God for Donny calling me. And I said, Donny, anything we can do, we have to move into action to help these people. I mean- Thank you so much, Jane. And Donny, I mean, Donny's been a life -changing friend for us. He's been out here twice, and we're trying to get him to get on a plane again and get out here now, because he hasn't even seen our new site. But yeah, Donny's been absolutely amazing. And people like you, Jane. I mean, we just, like you said, we're out, we're here. I mean, those kinds of donations, that donation that Mick just made is unbelievable. And you sharing our story. I mean, we're just in the middle of nowhere out here and getting us to be, getting this kind of exposure is just invaluable for us.

15:40 So we're so grateful. Oh my gosh, wow. Wow, wow. And you know, what you just said about, you know, that they're- Their children. That they're children is, you know, the thing about the chimps, and everyone knows that they're, you know, genetically, you know, the most similar species to humans. But I think that when you spend time with these guys is what you realise the way they're most similar to us is emotionally. And, you know, when you think of your own self or your own internal self, you know, we're really just all about our emotions. It's how we feel all the time. And the chimpanzees, you know, you think about these little babies and they, you know, their life has been torn apart.

16:25 I mean, they've seen their mother killed and maybe other family members, and they've been injured. And put in a terrible situation in captivity, and they're scared and, you know, and then they get here, and we do our best to give them a good life, you know? And the number one thing for chimps is that being with other chimps. So that once they do reach us, whatever situation they've been in before, we give them love and care, get them healthy. But then they get to be with their little, you know, their other chimpanzees. And so that's gonna be the rest of their life. And that's the thing that's so great for them. But it's just, it's every time we get a new chimpanzee, a new orphan, it's a tragedy, you know?

17:11 And we're happy we rescued them, but it's always, we always feel so angry and sad, all mixed up. And we just, I don't even know what I'm saying. I'm just talking. I'm just so grateful that you have put us, you know, give us this exposure. And that donation, I missed the last name, but Mick is- Mick Davoudian. Mick Davoudian, who is a philanthropist who supports Unchained TV. And, you know, he and his husband, Joe Kaufman, are two of the most generous people I've ever met. And so breaking news, if you're just joining us, we're doing this story about this incredible sanctuary in Liberia where these two individuals, husband and wife team, Dr. Desmond is a veterinarian.

18:05 They have 115 chimps. I got word from Donnie Moss, who we're gonna talk to in a second, that they were running out of money and they need money. They have 115 hungry mouths to feed and that they were in a crisis and that there's an emergency. So we are talking to him. And the breaking news is that Mick Davoudian and his husband, Jeff Hoffman, just donated $10 ,000. Wow. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God. We are so grateful. Thank you. I wanna show the miracles. Can you put the camera right up here?

18:45 I want you to see the miracles that your donations are giving. This is little Grace. And I think, I don't know if you heard before, but she came to us paralysed and I'm gonna be quiet for a second so you can hear her laugh. That's her laughing from tickling. Can you guys hear that? I don't know if you can hear that. Yes, we can. It's adorable. It's absolutely adorable. So this is, I mean, your donations literally work miracles. This little girl watched her mom be killed and was paralysed. And she's now here with other chimps and being loved and tickled and laughing.

19:28 And I mean, it's, you know, they're transformations that we can't do without everybody's help. So- Now, I just wanna go back to Nilo Farr, who is from Texas, who donated $250 and every donation- Bless the new Nilo Farr. Nilo Farr, continue. We had some breaking news, we interrupted you, but continue on your thoughts and your questions for the Desmonds. Well, because of my fellow countrymen's extremely generous donation, I'm going to increase my pledge from 250 to 1,000. Oh my God! And I pledge to get it matched by somebody else.

20:11 So thank you so much, Mick Davoudian, you're amazing. I mean, I just had chills running down my spine when I heard that news. Thank you. Oh, everybody is saying Mick and Jeff, true heroes. And you too, Nilo Farr, true hero. Please post your incredible donation on Facebook. Wow, this is unbelievable. So you just heard it here that Nilo Farr is donating $1,000 and she says she's going to match, she wants it matched. So we've got, and of course you would allow people to match it like 500 and 500, right?

20:55 I mean, yeah, so let's get this matched because this is just super exciting and this is what I live for. Honestly, I live for this because we cover so much depressing stuff, you know, what's happening to animals. And when we're able to be a force for good, not just report the terrible things that are happening, but help change something, when you've saved these chimps, you've saved the world for those chimps. And people are saying, Nilo Farr, thank you. The chimps, thank you. So this is absolutely amazing.

21:36 Wow, I'm just super, super excited. Me too. Jane, I wanted to just say thank you. I mean, the thing you said about we hear so much bad news. I mean, we're obviously animal rights people. I've been an animal rights activist since I was a kid, I think before my kids barely speak and drove my family nuts. But, you know, I get bombarded, not just with chimp things all day, about everything all the time, as you guys do as well. And it's really just like getting these kinds of you guys supporting us and these kinds of donations. I mean, it really makes us cry because it's like you said, it's not only just this, but just all the bad things that are happening to our non-human relatives all around the world.

22:17 And then you can see all this good and you need that. You need that inspiration. And it's so, this gives us so much hope here in the middle of nowhere that we can make it out here. Tom wants to know, did they mention chimps involved in the pet trade? Yes, Tom, those are all chimps. Those are all chimps. Why are they being killed? So they're being killed for some people for meat. Sometimes it's just like people out hunting and doing, you know, bushmeat hunting and they happen to find chimps and kill them and sell the meat. But there is a demand for chimp meat, sadly. It's like an elitist kind of thing. And then there's a pet trade. Then these are all really large scale issues.

22:58 So we're not talking about subsistence eating. You and I might not eat any animals, but, you know, people in Liberia, I mean, they eat animals, but they don't necessarily want to eat chimps. And subsistence farming, that's just, you know, in the village, somebody going and killing some, you know, some type of, say an antelope or something, you know, well, I would prefer they didn't at all. They're killing one antelope and they're feeding the village. We're talking about these guys are in something we would call, you know, international wildlife crime. And we do a lot of work on that as well. So- Is this like rich people who want a chimpanzee? Yes, and there's a commercial bush meat trade.

23:40 There's a commercial pet trade. So we're talking about a commercial trade that is driving this. We wouldn't have 115 chimps from this trade if it were just a few people in the, you know, local people hunting for food. That's not what this is. So we think, we know from other studies that have been done. I mean, what we think is happening in Liberia is a lot of the, if someone is out hunting, they're usually part of a, they're part of, you know, an organised crime network. The hunters themselves are like, you know, the little guy. But if they happen to kill a chimpanzee and it's a mom that has a baby, then they'll try and get the baby out across the border to Cote d'Ivoire. And then from there, they might go- They can go anywhere, Middle East to China.

24:22 I mean, I get stuff all the time. People sending me pictures of someone, you know, in a castle or a big wealthy mansion with a baby tiger and a baby chimp. And I've even seen recently a picture of a guy with three baby chimps. I could tell because I know chimps. They were from three different regions. There were three different subspecies. And they were little babies, which means they killed families in three different regions and took those babies and got them all the way to him so he can have a pet. And this is why I hate it when there are movies or commercials that feature chimps or really any other animals. There is always cruelty at the heart of it. Tiffany Brunelli, who did donate, says, please keep the donations going.

25:06 Let's get the match. So I want to go out now to Donnie Moss. You've waited patiently. You were instrumental in bringing the Desmonds to Africa initially. Tell us the backstory about this. The backstory is absolutely fascinating. So in 2015, the New York Times reported that the New York Blood Centre abandoned 66 chimps who they had been using in biomedical research on islands in Liberia with no food or water. And on an emergency basis, the Desmonds picked up their lives and dropped what they were doing and moved to Liberia for what was supposed to be four or five weeks to put systems in place with locals to take care of the chimps on these islands.

25:53 And then they were going to leave. And as you mentioned early on, Jane, the government, the forestry authorities began dropping off orphans unrelated to the chimpanzees on the islands. These were victims of the exotic pet trade and the bushmeat trade, began bringing them to their front door. And, you know, one turned into 10 probably in the matter of first, you know, several months or a year or so. I, the Desmonds were, and so the footage that you've been showing, Jane, is of the Desmonds with about the first 10 or 12 chimps in their backyard. This is not a sanctuary, this footage that you're showing right now, this is sort of a makeshift enclosure that the Desmonds had in their own backyard to take care of these chimps who were coming in.

26:42 But this could not withstand the number of chimps that kept coming in. The Desmonds had to build a proper chimpanzee sanctuary outside of a village, populated village area, sort of in a remote area, and build an infrastructure. And keep in mind these chimps who are all we're seeing right now are sort of the babies and the juveniles. They grow up and they become big, strong, and dangerous. And so they need to, and you haven't really shown those. And the ones you're showing on the screen right now were the ones on the islands who were used in research. But all of the chimps that you're looking at now are adults, and they're in these large enclosures, but they're unable to leave the enclosures until the Desmonds are able to embark on phase two of the sanctuary in which they could create moats and build walls, so that when they let the larger chimpanzees out of their enclosures, they won't be able to sort of escape into the local village.

27:43 And local villagers won't be able to sort of come into this area. And that will keep everyone safe. So there's a sense of urgency around phase two, so that these large chimps can get outside into a forest, which mimics their natural habitat. I'll say one more thing, and that is in 2016, when I was working on the campaign to compel the New York Blood Centre to pay for the care of the chimps who they abandoned on the islands, again, unrelated to the chimps we're talking about now, the Desmonds who were there taking care of the chimps on the islands at that time encouraged me to come over and visit them and see the chimps for whom I was fighting.

28:24 They didn't know me. They didn't know, you know, for all they knew, I could have been the crazy, radical, extreme animal, right? They didn't know what they were getting into, and they were kind enough to invite me over and take that risk. And I was able to go there and document not only the chimps on the islands, but the chimps who came into their care, the ones you've been showing, those chimps are now adults, and now they've got 115, and miraculously, they built a sanctuary from the ground up in a remote forest, again, in Liberia, in a place with no electricity, no plumbing, no roads, no infrastructure, at a time when there was a shortage of materials due to supply chain, when they didn't really have money coming in.

29:11 So the obstacles that they faced during COVID to build a sanctuary from the ground up, I am mesmerised by the work that they do. And because they're so remote, because they're so isolated, they just can't, they don't have the reach that a lot of the other sanctuaries that are more established have. And so that's why they've had trouble raising money. People don't know they exist. Well, we're gonna do everything we can, and we have breaking news. You are watching video and speaking with the Desmonds live from Liberia. We have been trying to raise money because they need money. This is an emergency appeal. They are taking care of 150 orphan chimps, and these are just like babies.

29:56 Remember, these are our closest cousins. They share so much of our DNA. I mean, these are children. And thanks to their organisation, the Liberiachimpanzeerescue.org, you can see that these animals are happy and they're living their best lives, even though their mothers were gunned down in front of them or shot in front of them, hit in front of them, killed in front of them. They've been rescued and they are living their best lives. They're some of the adults and they're the babies. So we have breaking news. We went on the air seeking donations and we got donations.

30:38 We have gotten so far today, absolutely amazing donation from Mick Davoudian and Jeff Hoffman, who announced that they are donating $10,000. And then we also got a donation of $1,000 from Nilofar, and I don't wanna mess up your last name, but Asgharian, I think it is pronounced, but apologies if I messed it up, but thank you for your generosity. And then she said, hey, we're gonna do a match.

31:19 Now I personally, so moved by these images of these babies, have donated $1,000 myself. So we're up to $12,000. Let's see. Now, also we got a donation. Smaller donations are great. So we've gotten smaller donations from Lindsay Baker. We've gotten smaller donations from Tiffany Brunelli. And we are gonna really ask people, please, $10, $5, it's going to make all the difference and it's very easy to donate. So you can donate, and I'll show you the link to donate right now.

32:01 And if you're listening, I will read it out to you. It is, getting there right this second, boom, LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate. So I wanna call one of the folks who has donated, and she may not have donated a huge amount. She said, oh, it's nothing compared. No, everything is something. Any donation, it's also not just the physical amount, it's the support and the sense of community that Jenny and Jim Desmond in a Liberia feel because they're there by themselves.

32:46 I mean, imagine that, 115 chimpanzees, and people are saying, thank you for taking care of these sweet babies. Let us know if you're donating. Do we have Lindsay Baker on the line? This is Lindsay Baker. Okay, so tell us, Lindsay, thank you for your donation. You're urging other people to donate as well. What are your thoughts and feelings and questions? Well, I mean, this is such a critical situation here. These poor chimpanzees, they need the care that only these people apparently are able to give them right now.

33:29 And I know this is a tough time for people. You know, a lot of people are having a little tougher time, but, and I know like it's wonderful to see these wonderful, huge donations. It can be intimidating. Please, just anything you can donate. I made a small donation. What was your donation? Tell us what your donation was so that we can, you know. It was $25. Great. And now I feel really guilty. Yes, you do. Uh-uh, don't, do not feel that way. If everybody donated $25, they would have their problem solved. Yep. Continue on. No, I think so, those of us, maybe we can go back and deep, maybe I can go back and reach in a little deeper, even though this is a tough time of the year for everyone.

34:14 But the situation is incredible. The more attention we can bring to it, I don't think people know what's going on. I don't think they know the slaughter that is going on. And the reason is not helping, you know, they say, oh, it's for animal testing, it's for humans to help humans. No one is benefiting from this. This is causing trouble for everyone. It's causing problems with disease, it's causing all this awful torture for these animals. And it just touches me to see them. And when this poor little creature is laughing, you know, when he gets tickled after being paralysed, after seeing his parents die, obviously they have a superior intelligence, which does not mean that we treat them any differently because of their level of intelligence, but we do know that they are even more aware.

35:10 So it just touches your heart. Thank you so much, Lindsay. Thank you. And you do incredible work. Thank you, my dear. And so there you have... Yes, go ahead. Sorry, I was gonna address what Lindsay said about just the word slaughter. It's true. And like we said before, I wanna make it clear. We're not talking about subsistence hunting for people to eat. This is a commercial trade. For every chimpanzee, I think really important to understand that at least her mother was killed, but the estimate is, you know, somewhere between five and 10 for every baby who finally makes their way to us. So if you think about the 115, you know, that's over a thousand chimpanzees taken from the wild, which is just devastating for the whole species and the population and biodiversity and all the things we all care about on top of animal welfare and these guys, you know, getting a good life.

36:06 And we have the second largest population of Western chimpanzees in Liberia. They're critically endangered. And, you know, when you think about a thousand, subtracted out of 7,000, that's a huge percentage of the population just wiped out. And these guys don't go back to the wild. That's another thing that I think people don't realise. So they will live for about 60 years and they will live at the sanctuary for their lifetimes. And we've got more breaking news in. We've got a very generous offer coming in. I want to go to Karen LaCava, who has, she is a real estate broker.

36:46 She says, I will donate a portion of my next real estate commission as soon as it closes. Wow. Exactly, Karen LaCava. That is wonderful. That's amazing. Yay. Thank you, Karen LaCava. Absolutely wonderful. And I saw another donation come in just now from Michelle Celestino. They'll post it on Facebook so people can see, but Michelle donated $25. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, Michelle. And to Lindsay, I didn't get a chance to thank you. $25 is amazing. Every, I mean, it all adds up. You know, we couldn't have done any of this without all the small donations adding up.

37:28 So, you know, we had a, there was a, back in 2020, that, you know, the BBC filmed a show about us trying to build the sanctuary and we never even got to building the sanctuary. But when it aired in the UK, we were able to raise, I think in the first three weeks, it aired over three weeks, about a quarter million dollars. And it was almost primarily from small donations. Just small ones that added up. Like $5, $10, $25, 50. So every, I mean, we really mean it. I mean, every amount, every donation counts. Every dollar helps us take care of these guys. And so we're just so grateful for anyone who cares enough.

38:10 Again, Jane, you mentioned, you know, that we're over here on our own and it's hard for us to reach out. So this exposure is great, but it's more than the money too. It's, you mentioned the community. It makes us feel like we're connecting with people that we're not alone over here. Of course, we have our amazing, we have a lot of Liberian friends and our amazing team here. We're not alone in that sense. But in the sense of trying to raise the money and trying to build this place and to save the species, you know, these guys are rapidly going extinct. So it's these individuals, but it's also all the other chimps out there that we're trying to protect as well.

38:50 So we can't- And that's what raises a question. Tom says, I believe chimps are endangered. Aren't they given government protection? Yes. So in Liberia, they have some of the stronger protections here than they have in the U.S., by the way. No one here is allowed to kill a chimp. No one is allowed to have a chimp as a pet. So it's been a matter of, you know, it's just like anything, right? Drugs or anything else. We, it's about, we made the laws stricter. We had to build enforcement. No one really even was aware of what was going on and the extent to what was happening. And there are the good guys and the bad guys, just like everything, right? There are the commercial traders who are just making money, just like a drug dealer.

39:32 The people buying pets over in the Middle East or China or in the U.S. or wherever it is for entertainment to use as pets, to put in circuses. So yeah, it's illegal here, but just with everything that's illegal, it's really hard work to get the laws to be enforced. And in addition to that, we don't really wanna do law enforcement. We wanna work with communities and work with our neighbours to really want to also protect these chimpanzees because most Liberians don't wanna kill chimpanzees either. So. This is fantastic. I have to say, people have all sorts of questions. Do you work with Jane Goodall? Yes, we do. We know her very well.

40:12 Yes. So the Jane Goodall Institute has helped us with a bunch of different projects. We've known the Jane Goodall Institute for years and worked with them. But I just wanna make the point, they have two of their own sanctuaries. So they really aren't in a position to help us financially with our sanctuary because they're keeping two going on, so. Exactly. Absolutely. You know, you are doing such extraordinary work. And tell me about your backstory. Where are you from in the United States? I know you're a veterinarian, Dr. Desmond. Tell us about how you, prior to getting the calls, hey, come to Africa for a month to help these chimps that were abandoned after being used in biomedical research and thought you were going there for a month.

40:58 And you ended up being there for 10 years and now you have 115 children, essentially chimpanzee children. But what is your backstory? Tell us about yourselves. So I grew up in Maine. Jenny grew up in California. And we met in Boston and it was kind of- We weren't doing this work at all when we met. It was pretty much love at first sight. We got married pretty quickly and we went on this round-the-world trip. It was like an extended honeymoon. You know, we saved money and we'll do a backpack around the world and we'll settle down. And on that trip, by chance, we ended up volunteering at this orangutan rehabilitation centre in Borneo.

41:45 And that was a life-changing event. Jenny found a way. She'd always wanted to work with animals but didn't find a way that she felt comfortable with. But a sanctuary was something that she did. And for me, there was a veterinarian there doing research on zoonotic diseases, so disease transfer between humans and animals. And I was so fascinated with it that human diseases could impact the great apes. And so that set us on this odyssey, you know, to where we are now, where I went to vet school and we volunteered in all these places around the world and eventually ended up here, where, you know, I still do the disease work, but we built this whole sanctuary.

42:25 And yeah, here we are. That's the quick CliffsNotes version. Okay, we have two donations that just came in. Michelle Celestino, I just donated. And she also said she donated $25 in another text. And Annie Abram has donated. And again, yes, let's keep those pledges and donations coming in. And to recap, boy, there are so many donations. This broadcast has so far raised over $11 ,000. That's amazing. There is a match. There is a match. Niloufar has said she would match $1,000.

43:06 So let's get that match in. We can do 500 and 500. Let's go back to Donnie Moss for a second, because Donnie, full disclosure, I was living in New York when you decided to take on the New York Blood Centre for abandoning these chintz after using them for biomedical research. And everybody said, you know, you're not gonna be able to make a difference. And you did. But you did some very intense demonstrations, buy -ins at the New York Blood Centre, which I was there.

43:47 I don't know if I actually went on the ground. I think I was reporting it for my fledgling, a nonprofit news network. But you did the impossible. Tell us how you got, tell us what you did and how you did it. So when we learned that the Blood Centre abandoned these chintz and that the Blood Centre was this extraordinarily wealthy organisation that we believe earned about a billion dollars in royalties off the research that they conducted on these chintz, it was just an outrage. And so when we, and you were there, Jane, for one of the first protests where we staged a disruption in the lobby of the New York Blood Centre, after that was an escalation.

44:30 We were polite first and that didn't work. And then when we got nowhere with the New York Blood Centre, we started to go after their corporate donors, of course, starting out politely. And then after being ignored, escalating and escalating to the point that we got IBM, MetLife and Citigroup to, as far as I know, this never happens, make public statements sort of condemning the Blood Centre for abandoning the chintz. And Citigroup went so far as to donate $50,000 toward the care of these chintz. I just wanna clarify, again, these are not the chintz that the Desmonds are taking care of now. These are the chintz that were abandoned on islands on a nearby river in Liberia.

45:12 So that campaign was two years. It was very stressful and it ended with a $6 million grant from the New York Blood Centre for the lifelong care of those chintz. The Desmonds didn't see a penny of that money for the chintz who are now in their care. And the campaign that I ran, while difficult, pales in comparison to the work that I've seen the Desmonds doing on the ground in Liberia. You know, one of the things that amazes me was that in 2015, when they answered the call to go there in this crisis situation to, you know, get food and water and systems in place to care for the chintz abandoned on the islands, they went there during an Ebola outbreak.

45:53 I mean, it was a scary time. Liberia throughout the decades has been riddled with civil unrest. And here they sort of dropped what they were doing, moved to Liberia, again, with a plan to stay for five weeks. They are not supposed to be there now, almost 10 years later, but they've stayed and now they're stuck. And truth be told, until they have an endowment, which will ensure that the chintz have enough money to cover the cost of living and the salaries of all their employees for 60 years, which is how long these chintz can live, the Desmonds are stuck there. And so sort of, I feel an obligation and a desire being somebody on the ground in the US to try and spread the word here as much as I can, because they just don't have the networks that so many of the other sanctuaries like the Jane Goodall sanctuaries have.

46:48 And so, and as I mentioned earlier, it just, it bears repeating that phase one of their sanctuary, night houses, you know, basic infrastructure, nursery have been built, but they desperately need to embark on phase two, which will allow the adult chintz to get out into the forest, climb trees and do what they are designed to do. All of these chintz, all 115 chintz and the chintz who will invariably come in in the coming days, months and years, they're gonna spend their lives at this sanctuary. And the Desmonds wanna be sure that their sanctuary mimics to whatever extent possible their natural habitat, which is the forest.

47:31 And until the adults can get out into the forest, into climb trees and express their natural behaviours, they're stuck. And so, there's a sense of urgency, not only to cover their operating expenses, to feed their chintz and pay the salaries, but also expand the sanctuary with phase two and build an endowment. It's a lot. And so if whoever can help, we just need their help. Wow. This is extraordinary. I wanna ask a couple of questions. Are you still in contact with the BBC? Because I see this as a great follow -up story. As a journalist myself, wow.

48:12 I would jump on this as a follow -up. What can you do to convince them? Because that could go a long way. We are talking to them. Yes. We want to see if they can re -air the first episodes, like back on their iPlayer and distributed out. And we are talking to them about doing a follow-up. They were going to do a part two, but that was when COVID hit and all their production stopped. So it was really bad timing on that. So we are talking to them, Jane, and we would love to do another show. It just brought so much, not only donations, but mostly exposure and awareness as well about what's going on here.

48:55 So yes, of course, we would love to do another one. And we are talking to them. But I think whether it's BBC or someone else, we'd love to do a follow-up. Absolutely. And let's see Grace again. She's hiding behind her blanket. She's getting sleepy. I'm sure. I'm sure. Because it's dark now. Now, what's the rehabilitation process? You said she was literally paralysed. Look how she clings to you. It's so moving. How did you enable her to become well -adjusted and happy and giggle despite the trauma that she witnessed of her mother being killed in front of her?

49:40 Well, I'll have to give her some credit because these chimpanzees, they're so inspiring. They're so resilient. They really teach us about how we can survive pretty much anything because they do. But we have a really intensive care programme. Our caregivers are amazing. They're just like what you see here. We give them 24-hour intensive care. They come in and they get moms. Sometimes they have to share a mom or two, but they get moms, they get love, and they're with other chimpanzees. And we just, you know, that's what turns them around. I mean, with Grace, we needed to do some more physical stuff. Of course, Jimmy's a vet. He gets them kind of healthy again. They often come in, they're dehydrated. Some of them have broken legs.

50:21 We've had many come in with broken bones, broken arms, broken legs from shrapnel, or they've fallen out of the tree with their moms and broken bones. We've had them where they've had cuts on their heads from falling. So lots of different injuries. So it's kind of hearing that physical piece, but the most important piece for chimps, just like I think it would be just the same for us, right, with human orphans, is that just that TLC, just that constant love and care. They sleep with their caregivers. They are with them all day. If you get up, you carry them with you, just like their moms would. So we really try and replicate what they'd have with their moms as much as possible, you know. We're getting questions as people join.

51:01 I know you told this story, but Gail Thornberry wants to know, where did you get her from? Can you tell the backstory of this particular Grace, this chimpanzee? So Grace came from near the border with Cote d'Ivoire. So she was probably on her way to be sold out to someone else. The far Eastern part of Liberia, which is very forested area and a town called Fishtown, actually. And one of the rangers who was in that area heard a rumour that there was a chimpanzee and they went and confiscated her from the people who were keeping her as a pet or who were keeping her to sell.

51:45 Maybe they were trying to get her across the border. And so once we heard about it- And what about her mother? What about Grace's mother? Grace's mother was killed. And if you, I mean, you can't see, but Grace has, there's several scars where you can see where the pellets went into her body and you can even still feel- You can feel them. You can feel multiple pellets, shotgun pellets that are embedded under her skin. In her muscle. So, and Grace's, you know, they all come, they all come at least traumatised, you know, psychologically traumatised because of what they've been through.

52:26 And often they have physical damage or they're sick. Grace is one of the worst cases because she was actually paralysed. And it's amazing that she's been able to recover as much as she has. And we hope she'll continue to gain strength and function in her arm and her left arm and leg. And the thing is, Jenny was mentioning, you know, how we provide 24-hour care. You know, Grace, you know, chimpanzees, the physical contact. So you have to imagine, this is why we try and simulate what their life is like in the wild. You have to imagine that a baby chimpanzee is in 24-7 physically connected to the mom, like constantly touching the mom's body.

53:13 Because if they get left behind in the forest by their group, they're gonna die. They're not gonna make it. And so for the first like really three years of their life, they barely move more than a few metres away from their mom or their aunties. They're always very close by because- Yeah, if I get up right now, which I wouldn't do it, but if I got up right now, she would scream and she would absolutely go crazy. I would never do it. But I mean, if I just stood up quickly for some reason to go walk away, she doesn't sit here. It's not like a human baby where they might sit on the couch and watch you while you do things. Their instinct and their whole emotional attachment with their moms is to hold on to mom.

53:59 To hold on for dear life, basically. We just got another donation. Kim Delgado just donated. Thank you, Kim. Thank you. Keep these donations coming in. We're just about at the end of our show. I could go on for hours. I am so moved by the work you do, by the generosity of our viewers. Wow. Please keep these donations coming. $25, $10, it all counts. And I wanna thank Donnie Moss for making this happen, really reaching out to me and saying, hey, these folks need help.

54:41 Thank you, Donnie, for that. Thank you for doing this. Yeah, I mean, thank you for all the work you're doing. It's absolutely amazing. 115 chimps. I'm just gonna say it one more time. Please, guys, I've donated. We've gotten a bunch of people to donate, but they need more donations. $5, $10, $15, $20, $25. Please, LiberiaChimpanzeeRescue.org forward slash donate. And I'm just absolutely touched by the work you do. God bless you. Keep it up. We, I hope the BBC does the video and we will stay on top of your story.

55:28 So come back soon. Thank you so much. Because- Thank you, Donnie. Thank you to all the donors and everyone who watched. And just, yeah, we're filled with gratitude tonight. Thank you. I am absolutely just so touched and moved. So of course, as we wrap up, we tell everybody, please download Unchained TV. We are the world's only vegan animal rights streaming television network. And it's a lot of fun. It's totally free. Check it out. This episode is brought to you by Unchained TV. Unchained TV is a nonprofit organisation producing plant -based content filled with tips and tricks to spice up those healthy veggies, grains, and legumes.

56:12 For more information on Unchained TV productions, just visit unchainedtv.com. That's unchained.