After being kidnapped from a refuge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three orphaned chimpanzees are now being held captive for a six-figure ransom.
The Lubumbashi sanctuary received a video of the animals, Hussein, Cesar and Monga in a plain brick room. The three chimps are clearly terrified, and one of them had her hands bound over her head.
The centre is collaborating with law enforcement to track down the kidnappers and save the chimpanzees, but Franck Chantereau, the founder of the sanctuary, has pledged not to pay the ransom since he thinks doing so would just promote additional abductions.
Chimpanzees are estimated to be worth $11,000 each on the illegal market, so Chantereau is not optimistic about seeing them again. They are sold as pets and trafficked worldwide.
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