The Centre of Rescue and Rehabilitation begins in the year 1994 with the arrival of Cristobal, a male woolly monkey of 8 months old. During the year 1996we requested the Agricultural and Livestock Service of the Chilean government (SAG), authorization to create a center to shelter primates seized by the authorities.In a beginning our idea was to recover them, to rehabilitate them and, when possible, to return them to their natural habitat. Rapidly we realized that it was a fantasy, the majority of the monkeys enter with severe sequels left by the traffic, when they were hunted or for the life that they have taken in captivity.Some of our monkeys have arrived to the Center blind, mutilated, with such chronic diseases as hepatic cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and cardiac diseases; also we have monkeys that have been alcoholic, drug addicts, etc. Obviously, they will never return to their habitat.Other primates like Eusebio and Toto have had better luck. Eusebio was moved to the Sanctuary for chimpanzees in Zambia, Africa in December, 2000 and Toto in September, 2003. The 2 nowadays are free in a protected jungle.

From the year 1996 up to the date, we have received 175 primates of 12 different species. The majority of them have been recovered physically and behaviorally and they will remain many in the Center for the rest of their lives.

The work has been kept thanks to the contribution of the founder family: Almazán-Muñoz and from the year 2001 the Centre receives quarterly a donation from The Monkey Sanctuary Trust that is destined for environmental enrichment.

Objectives of the Centre of Rescue and Rehabilitation of Primates

1. To fight the illegal trade of exotic animals, specially primates,
2. To educate present and future generations regarding the care and conservation of primates,
3. To rehabilitate phisically and psichollogically all the primates confiscated,
4. To rescue primates that are being kept in circuses, houses, and other isolated and depriving captivity conditions, so they can live together with others of their kind,
5. To make contact with international organizations that share our targets,
6. To try to reintroduce to their natural habitat those who can,
7. To promote animal wellbeing and the modernization of the laws for animal protection.

How much is being spent?

Maintaining, environmental enrichment, medical care and feeding costs are very high. Here are some examples:

* X-Ray: $15.000
* Ecography: $30.000
* Laboratory exams: $4.000-$7.000-$15.000
* Veterinary visit: The cost varies if it is a regular atention or a surgery
* Teeth surgery: $20.000-$40.000 each teeth
* Transport cage: $50.000
* Quarentine cage: $ 200.000
* Rehabilitation enclosure: from $500.000 (small), to $3.000.000 (big)
* Big dormitory: $550.0000 (3×3x3m)
* Medium dormitory: $250.000
* Little house: $35.000
* Woolly monkey food $30.000 per month per monkey
* Howler monkey food: $20.000 per month per monkey
* Marmoset food: $10.000 per month per monkey
* Arrival of one monkey: $50.000. A protocol consisting in a sanitary bath, veterinary exams, laboratory samples, medications (vitamins, antiparasitic, etc.), creation of a new medical record, etc., is followed.

It is necessary to consider that the majority of the treatments are realized in the Center, the professionals must come here and bring equipments of examinations as for example portable ultrasound scanner.It is very stressful and dangerous to extract primates to other places considering how difficult it is to manage and handle them, and also that the effect of the anesthesia lasts approximately 15 minutes.

When a primate arrives to the Center it can come in very bad physical and psychic conditions, with strap to the neck or to the abdomen, with mutilated and infected teeth, with parasitic diseases, fungi, wounds and with severe behavioral problems.

Some arrivals:

Memo,a capuchin monkey who was electrocuted in the towers of high tension in the city of Arica. He was in intensive treatment 2 weeks and spent other 3 months under medical care. Today he is recovered and lives in the Center.

Vicky, capuchin female that arrived to the Center with severe physical problems, among them, the denture in terrible conditions and a fracture in the upper jaw. She was operated by the veterinarians of the Center and nowadays she is recovered and forms part of a group of 5 other capuchins.

Yoyi, an adult male spider monkey, that arrived to our Center derived by a judge from a private Zoo. He had severe injuries in all the fingers caused by fungi. He was in treatment for 3 months. Nowadays he is doing very well and lives in a group of  adult  spider monkeys.

Antonio, a male spider monkey that arrived in the year 1997 being 18 months old with severe physical and mental damage. Nowadays he is the leader of a group formed by 5 adult spider monkeys.