Three baby chimps were kidnapped from a sanctuary. Their abductors are demanding a ransom
An animal sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing demands for ransom money, after kidnappers abducted three of its baby chimpanzees. ...
"This is the first time in the world that baby apes were kidnapped for ransom," Franck Chantereau, founder of the sanctuary where the kidnap took place, told CNN on Friday.
His sanctuary, called Young Animals Confiscated in Katanga (abbreviated to JACK in French), is in Lubumbashi, close to the border between the DRC and Zambia, on a key route from Congo to South Africa through which apes are smuggled to the rest of the world. ...
Kidnappers broke into the sanctuary around 3 a.m. on September 9, Chantereau said, and took away three of the five baby chimpanzees that he had rescued so far this year -- César, Hussein and Monga. He later found the other two hiding in the kitchen.
An hour after the break-in, Chantereau's wife received three messages and a video of the abducted chimps from the kidnappers. ...
The kidnappers claimed to have drugged the chimps and threatened to hurt them if Chantereau didn't pay the ransom.
"Obviously, it's impossible for us to pay the ransom," Chantereau said. "Not only do we not have the money, but you need to understand that if we go their way, they could very well do it again in two months, and also we have no guarantee that they will return the baby to us." ...