What happens when a chimp sees sunlight for the first time?

What happens when a chimp sees sunlight for the first time? September 4, 2011

You gotta see this.

HuffPo notes:

RTL, a German television station, provided this tearjerking footage of lab chimps taking their first steps of freedom outdoors and into the sun.

It’s in German, but we can gather that this was the first time the animals had ever been let loose in natural daylight.

Feel-good footage aside, the use of chimps in research has long been a hot-button issue.

A few months ago, 180 chimpanzees at a federal primate facility in New Mexico were the subject of a debate between the National Institutes of Health and animal-rights activists, who wanted the chimps to be released to a sanctuary where they could run free.

Take a look.  Check out more pictures of the enclosure here.


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