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Pamela Rosaire and her husband, Roger Zoppe, haven’t used chimpanzees in a traveling circus act in close to a decade, because audiences no longer want to see primates paraded around by a rope noose, forced to wear degrading costumes, and compelled to do backflips on horseback. Circuses that use wild animals are falling by the wayside, yet the Rosaire-Zoppe chimpanzee act has clung to this shameful part of its history by refusing to allow these long-suffering individuals to retire.
This is Ricky in a scene from Circus Rosaire. He was used for live shows at the Rosaires’ roadside zoo, where he was made to perform tricks for a crowd while wearing a rope noose around his neck.
These “trainers” have also used chimpanzees for media productions, including Chance, who was infamously exploited in The Wolf of Wall Street and then in a circus-style sideshow at the family’s roadside zoo, and Ricky, who was forced into magazine cover shoots, television shows and commercials, and photo op appearances.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited Rosaire-Zoppe Chimpanzees for failing to provide primates with environmental enrichment, adequate space, and clean enclosures in good repair. One report describes how the animals were self-harming and engaging in abnormal, repetitive behavior indicative of severe psychological distress.
In recent years, multiple chimpanzees kept by this operation have died, some before reaching their typical life expectancy. Before it’s too late for the few chimpanzees who remain in Rosaire and Zoppe’s possession, please ask the couple to work with the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance to find these primates a permanent home at an accredited sanctuary where they would have the opportunity to socialize with other chimpanzees and receive expert veterinary care, have space to roam, and enjoy a choice of complex enrichment activities.