Locally famous chimp is the focal point of first federal lawsuit filed using new rules to place captive chimpanzees under protection of Endangered Species Act

Cathy Breaux remembers the first time she saw Candy the chimpanzee up close. Breaux, now 63, was still in high school when she went to Fun Fair Park in her hometown of Baton Rouge. Candy, who had attained celebrity as a character on a local television kids’ show, was living alone in a cage just 10 feet by four feet by six feet, smoking cigarettes that visitors tossed to her. “It was terribly sad,” Breaux says. “It just broke my heart.”

In her 30s, Breaux was shocked to find Candy still stuck in solitary confinement. She began visiting regularly and advocating on Candy’s behalf, teaming in the late 1980s with other Baton Rouge activists like Holly Reynolds to organize protests outside the amusement park.

Reynolds undertook a letter-writing campaign and with help from the city’s director of animal control, they managed to persuade the owner, Samuel Haynes Jr, to give Candy a larger living space and a few enrichment items donated by the protesters. Still, local law enforcement said it could not help a privately owned chimpanzee. And Haynes remained unrepentant, Breaux says, even ignoring letters she had arranged for from experts like Jane Goodall. “He basically said, ‘It’s my chimp and I can do what I want.’”

Not any more.

Candy now lives at Haynes’s new park, Dixie Landin’, and is the focal point of the first federal lawsuit filed using new United States Fish and Wildlife Service rules that place captive chimpanzees under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.

The suit, filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund on behalf of Breaux, Reynolds and a local coalition, seeks to move Candy to Chimp Haven, a Louisiana-based sanctuary. It cites numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act as well as local laws, but it is the Endangered Species Act that made the difference.

“We’ve been aware of the situation for years but got involved last year when the new rule went into effect,” says Matthew Liebman, lead attorney for the ALDF. “Without it there was not much we could do – the other laws were not as expansive.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Candy the chimpanzee. Photograph: Animal Legal Defense Fund

In 2014, a New York appeals court rejected a case seeking personhood for chimpanzees to allow them to pursue release from private ownership. Liebman says some advocates felt that “while it was a valiant effort they were going for too much and the courts were not ready for it”. But the Endangered Species law, which prohibits “harming or harassing”, will provide the inalienable rights advocates sought.

“We will be creating tangible rights enshrined in law for chimpanzees,” Liebman says. “This is a game changer, for Candy and for others.”

Indeed, earlier this year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a similar suit on behalf of a 27-year-old chimpanzee named Joe at the Mobile Zoo in Alabama. Brittany Peet, Peta’s deputy director for captive animal law enforcement, says Peta has sprung five chimpanzees from isolation in roadside zoos in the last three years using public pressure and negotiation. “But this zoo is not willing to or doesn’t care about doing the right thing,” Peet says, explaining that a staff of two untrained employees cannot possible care for a hundred animals.

In both cases, advocates say the chimpanzees are denied the physical and mental enrichment necessary to keep such complex animals stimulated, happy and healthy.

The zoo did not respond to repeated interview requests.

Chimp Haven made one official visit to inspect Candy’s conditions and gave Haynes “pretty specific suggestions about enrichment”, says Cathy Willis Spraetz, Chimp Haven’s president and CEO.

An unofficial follow-up found Haynes had ignored the proposals. “She needs to use tools to keep her sharp and make her focus,” Spraetz says. “And bedding is very important to chimpanzees, who like building elaborate nests. She needs hay or straw to manipulate. But last time we were there she had just one blanket.”

Spraetz says Candy’s rocking back and forth is a sign of boredom and stress, caused by her isolation and the noise of amusement rides nearby. Haynes said his attorney would not let him comment for this article.

Liebman says even if Haynes provided enrichment and proper nutrition and stopped guests from giving Candy cigarettes and soda, the lawsuit would proceed and win. “Socialization is so important for chimpanzees,” he says. “They are interfering with her natural behavior.”

“The worst possible outcome for a chimpanzee is to be housed alone,” Spraetz adds.

The lawsuit cites the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which recommends that captive chimpanzee social groups have at least three adult males, five mature females and dependent offspring.

In February, Haynes asked the courts to dismiss the case, with his lawyers essentially saying it is just too late – Candy is too old to lose her human family and adjust to chimpanzees and even moving her could be harmful, they wrote.

“Subjecting Candy to a tranquilizer gun, especially at her advanced age, could cause cardiac arrest and even death.”

Haynes, however, did try relocating her once, to the Baton Rouge Zoo, but said her persistence in leading the other chimpanzees in escape attempts prompted the zoo to return her.

Spraetz scoffs at the claims, speculating that the zoo lacked the expertise and resources to properly reintroduce Candy to other chimpanzees. At Chimp Haven, Candy would first be placed near potential companions but not in the same space. Spraetz says chimpanzees are “extremely resilient” and one former pet is now the alpha male of a group at her sanctuary.

The trial is not set until December of 2017. Liebman hopes for a summary judgment, saying “I can’t imagine Haynes will find reputable experts to say her conditions are acceptable,” but even that would happen in April 2017.

Breaux continues visiting Candy, going on a service road behind her cage, where she calls the chimpanzee’s name. “She comes to the edge and puts her arm out,” Breaux says. “It’s gut-wrenching.”