Jim Cronin

James Michael "Jim" Cronin (born November 15, 1951 in Yonkers , New York , † March 17, 2007 in Manhattan , New York City ) was an internationally renowned animal rights activist and founder of Monkey World , a rescue station for monkeys near Wool , Dorset , England . In Monkey World at present is one of the largest primate groups outside of Africa and Asia. The rescue station works with numerous animal welfare organizations and government agencies to put an end to the illegal trade in monkeys / primates from Africa and Asia through international agreements.

Life

Jim Cronin was born in 1951 in Yonkers , New York , the son of a trade unionist. Even as a child, Cronin was fascinated by the animal world, "devoured" books and film documentaries about animals. After graduating from school, he did not take up studies, but first traveled to the United States, took odd jobs, before starting as an animal keeper in a zoo in the Bronx , New York in the late 1970s . His great love for animals was noticed by the management of the zoo and he was advised to take up work with John Aspinall , director of Howletts Zoo , in Kent , England . Taking the advice, Jim went to England and started working with great apes / primates .

In 1987, on a £ 25,000 loan from the UK government, he bought a 65 acre farm near Wool , Dorset , southern England and built Monkey World - Ape Rescue Center - a large sanctuary / outdoor enclosure for monkeys. Little by little he began to build two acre enclosures with various types of climbing frames. The immediate occasion was the rescue of a group of young chimpanzees that were used by photographers on the beaches in Spain for advertising purposes. For this, they were mistreated, drugged and defaced with human clothing. When they were 4 to 5 years old, they were usually killed because by then at the latest they were uncontrollable. Cronin was able to persuade the Spanish authorities to take the chimpanzees, which were in terrible physical and psychological condition, away from the photographer and take them into his care. Cronin took the animals into his rescue station and allowed them to recover from the abuse.

In 1993 Jim Cronin met Alison Ames, an American biologist and anthropologist who had a PhD from Cambridge . She had come to England to see Monkey World . A short time later they married and subsequently showed themselves to be an excellent, harmoniously complementary team - Jim Cronin with more practical skills and Dr. Alison Cronin with the appropriate academic training.

Originally, only the chimpanzees rescued from Spain were in Monkey World . But that quickly changed due to numerous other rescue operations that Alison and Jim Cronin carried out together, and the livestock grew steadily. The Cronins saved monkeys from all sorts of situations. Monkeys forced to smoke cigars on a Turkish TV show. Monkeys threatened with being trampled to death by Thai kick-boxers. Monkeys that have been mistreated as pets; and more. Monkey World works closely with animal welfare organizations and foreign governments to end the illegal trafficking of monkeys from Africa and Asia, and has rescued numerous primates that have been abused in laboratories, in the circus, as pets or for advertising were mistreated. In Asia, they are cooperating with the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals to prevent gibbons and orangutans from being captured, kept as pets and mistreated. Numerous undercover investigations were carried out here to uncover illegal animal trafficking.

Today in Monkey World there are more than 160 rescued monkeys from 14 countries around the world, which belong to a total of 16 different species. The ward is one of the largest and most important of its kind. There is an infirmary where most of the necessary medical examinations and, if necessary, operations can be performed. Two veterinarians , one of whom is a primate specialist, look after the animals. The members of the Monkey World team are internationally recognized as experts in primate health and rehabilitation. Chimpanzees, orangutans, marmosets , lemurs , different types of gibbons , woolly monkeys have found a new home here and attempts are being made to reintegrate the individual / isolated chimpanzees into a larger group (herd). They also take part in numerous breeding programs, including for gibbons, woolly monkeys and orangutans. In addition, Monkey World is one of the most popular destinations in England with over 500,000 visitors annually.

Cronin was deeply convinced that monkeys / primates should not be domesticated, trained, or kept as pets. He vehemently condemned the use of monkeys in film and television, especially in advertising.

"The adverts have been damaging to chimpanzees [...] They made it acceptable to use chimps for entertainment."

(German: "Advertising has caused the chimpanzees extraordinarily great harm [...] It was only advertising that made it appear acceptable to use chimpanzees for entertainment.")

The numerous TV films with which the Cronins drew attention to the fate of abused monkeys show that film and television can be used sensibly. Monkey World has received increasing public attention, in particular due to the ongoing TV series Monkey Business on the station Animal Planet . In the TV series Monkey Business, of which the 9th season has now been completed, the numerous rescue attempts and undercover investigations of the Cronins, especially in Europe and Asia, have been documented over the past 10 years.

In 2006 Dr. Alison Cronin and Jim Cronin were awarded the title MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Elizabeth II for their great commitment to the endangered animal world .

On March 20, 2007, it was announced that Jim Cronin had died of liver cancer on Saturday, March 17, 2007 in Cabrini Medical Center, Manhattan , New York City at the age of 55 . His widow, Dr. Alison Cronin, and the team at Monkey World , commented on Jim Cronin's death:

"Monkey World will carry on with Alison at the front. We will make sure it is Jim's lasting legacy. ”(Eng:“ Monkey World will continue its work with Alison at the top and preserve Jim's legacy. ”)

Web links

• Homepage of Monkey World - Ape rescue Center (English)
• Homepage of the program Monkey Business