A few months ago, one of our neighbors showed up at the Sanctuary with threats and accusations in response to the “singing” of Maynard, a wonderful Gibbon ape, who has resided here at the Sanctuary for four years now. This neighbor had made no previous effort to contact us about his dislike of Maynard’s singing and, in fact had never visited the Sanctuary. This neighbor told us he was giving us one week to have Maynard removed from the property. He said he had already contacted King County Animal Control and that Animal Control would be assisting him in Maynard’s removal. He said he did not care how it was done. His actual words being “I don’t care if he has to be shot and killed”. If that is what needs to be done, they will do it. We informed him that we had been working day and night to try to find a new home for Maynard, but our hands were tied until another facility became available. Maynard is an endangered species and therefore, his life was protected here. We were bound by our license to protect him.
This neighbor states that if Maynard remaines here at the Sanctuary, he would file a class action lawsuit against us, and we would lose our property - home of the Sanctuary. This man claimed that Maynard sings 24/7. This was absolutely is not true! If and when Maynard sings, it is usually somewhere between 9:00 am, and 4:00 in the afternoon. He does not sing in the early morning and never sings in the evening. Maynard does not usually sing during the winter months unless he is startled by a passing cougar.
When we learned that several of our neighbors were upset with the Maynard’s singing, we immediately changed his daily routine and lifestyle. We have felt the need to keep people away from Maynard’s area so Maynard will not be encouraged to sing. This is a loss for the visitors who cannot enjoy his antics and a loss for Maynard, who so enjoys the company of humans.
The Sanctuary grounds are very quiet
People who visit the Sanctuary, tell us that the grounds are so peaceful and serene, and that they can tell how happy all these animals are by their quiet contentment.
This neighbor also claimed that the Sanctuary has depreciated his neighborhood.
Sara’s Sanctuary adds value to our community, it does not depreciate it. When the Sanctuary moved onto this piece of property, it was in terrible condition, and we have worked tirelessly to make major property improvements to transform these grounds into a “haven” for these deserving animals. This is now is a maintained piece of property, it is completely fenced with a security gate at the entrance. These Sanctuary animals would not be known to the outside world without this negative attention that this one neighbor has brought to us.
Sara’s Sanctuary’s top priority has always been our animals, but we have never wanted it to be at the expense of our neighbors. We have always made every effort to think of our neighbors concerns.
Why was Maynard here?
When people in our state illegally buy and own exotic animals, many times they end up being confiscated by Animal Enforcement agencies or abandoned by their owners. Maynard was victim of such a fate. He was purchased very young for the purpose of being someone’s pet. Maynard should NEVER have been born in captivity and sold into private ownership. Only after Maynard was situated at the Sanctuary, did we learn that the options for his species of primate and placement, were very, very, limited. Maynard is now suffering the consequences of being captive born and human intolerance.
At three years old when he came to the Sanctuary, Maynard was immature and had not begun to vocalize. Mature Gibbon’s communicate by singing. Gibbons sing, because they are happy.
The next question we always are asked is, Why did Maynard come to live here, and not in a zoo?
There is a huge misconception about zoos. They very rarely take in a non-papered, owner- confiscated animals. They are just not in the rescue business. We asked all of our local zoos if they would consider taking Maynard in, and they all said, “No”. We asked 25 other Zoo’s if they would take Maynard in, again, they all said “No”. Operating with our U.S.D.A. license, we are licensed to care for exotic animals. We provided a great home for Maynard, but we recognized that he needed a home where his singing would be accepted by all. We do not want any of these wonderful creatures to be harmed because of a neighbor, who has an intolerance with what we are trying to give back to animals.
Placing a Gibbon Ape in a primate sanctuary was not an easy task. We had had a team of primate specialists searching for a new home for Maynard. Gibbons are monogamous, and cannot be housed in multiple housing enclosures. This made it even more difficult to find a home for Maynard.
Again, Maynard was protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), at least legally. Therefore, he was protected from any and all Human kind. There is a minimum $50,000 fine and jail sentence that can be imposed for any harm to any endangered species. Not only for the love of Maynard and any other animal in our care, the ESA laws, are bound to protect them to the fullest extent.
After ten years of hard work to build the Sanctuary into a safe, secure and permanent home for animals in need, this one man has managed to threaten the fate of far too many rescued animals.
We will continue doing everything in our power to resolve this situation with the County, because of this neighbors complaints.
