The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), the only globally recognized organization providing standards for identifying legitimate animal sanctuaries, once again awarded Accredited status to Primarily Primates Inc. earlier this month.

Accreditation means that Primarily Primates, which is managed by Friends of Animals, meets the criteria of a true animal sanctuary and is providing humane and responsible care of the animals. To be awarded Accredited status, an organization must meet GFAS’s rigorous and peer-reviewed animal care standards, which are confirmed by a site visit, and they must also adhere to a demanding set of ethical and operational principles.

To be re-accredited—PPI was initially accredited in 2022—the sanctuary reached some additional goals set out by GFAS:

• PPI continues to phase out the slotted, round steel enclosures known as “corn cribs” by creating larger groupings in bigger natural-substrate enclosures, also known as green spaces.

• PPI has made many changes the section of the sanctuary known as the “Outback” to introduce and house more Old World Monkeys, including macaques and patas monkeys. The Outback is a natural-substrate housing array. These enclosures have been extensively adjusted to offer more introduction opportunities with mesh dividers and additional tunnels. Because of this effort, we  have been able to combine more animals into groups.

• The goals for chimpanzee care include providing all animals with access to natural substrate 24/7, creating larger social groupings, and creating dedicated shifting space. The first goal for chimps has been realized—all chimpanzees have access to green space at all times. A new habitat designed for the four chimps we took in from a shuttered Oregon sanctuary means we will have more shifting space to benefit multiple groups of chimps.

“The goal of creating shifting space to advance our efforts in cleaning, maintenance, and improvements, has been longheld, and it is one that we are excited to realize,” said Krystal Mathis, executive director of PPI. “I'd say the biggest reason for working so hard to achieve GFAS accreditation is that it provides objective proof that we are meeting animal welfare standards.  That can be helpful when dealing with donors, other sanctuaries, authorities who may be seizing and placing animals, volunteers, and potential employees.

“I am grateful to the staff and our extended team at Friends of Animals for going above and beyond to help us achieve yet another milestone. Every step takes a lot of us. But it’s well worth it to have GFAS stand in full support of the course Primarily Primates has charted forward.”