FESTUS • A facility near Festus that houses chimpanzees and other primates is willing to give up those animals to settle a suit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals alleging unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
In a statement provided to the Post-Dispatch Monday, attorneys for Connie Braun Casey of the Missouri Primate Foundation said, “Ms. Casey is very upset and distraught over PETA’s continuing false and vicious attacks against her and its aggressive attempts to take away her chimpanzees. She has loved and cared for her chimpanzees for decades, and considers them part of her family.”
The statement said Casey had spent hundreds of thousands caring for the chimps but didn’t have PETA’s “war chest” and “cannot emotionally, physically or financially endure drawn-out litigation utilizing bullying tactics.”
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Jared Goodman, a PETA lawyer, said the group was reviewing a Friday court filing by Casey that proposed the deal to end the suit. “PETA will continue to work to ensure that all of the chimpanzees at issue in this case — who were dressed up for photo shoots for greeting cards, used in movies, and held as ‘pets’ — are transferred to accredited sanctuaries,” Goodman wrote in an email.
Without admitting liability, an “offer of judgment” filed Friday by Casey’s attorneys proposes the appointment of a special master or guardian to find the most appropriate, accredited wildlife sanctuary for the chimps. It also calls for the entry of a “declaratory judgment that there is sufficient evidence” that Casey’s treatment of the chimps violated the Endangered Species Act. It also proposes a prohibition against further possession of endangered chimps by Casey.
The filing gives PETA 14 days to respond.
In the statement, Casey’s attorneys said she hoped PETA would accept the offer of judgment and cooperate to find the chimps a new home.
PETA alerted the foundation in 2016 that it would sue over claims that at least 16 chimps were being housed at the facility, at 12338 Highway CC, in “filthy, virtually barren enclosures” without adequate space to climb and roam. The group said it had been contacted by a former volunteer who had a video of conditions there.
Casey preemptively sued PETA, which counter-sued. Casey’s suit was later tossed out.
PETA claimed in a June 4 filing that at least six chimps had already been moved elsewhere.
Casey and her then-husband once ran Chimparty, which provided chimpanzees for parties, television ads and movies.
A teenage neighbor fatally shot one of Casey’s chimps, 28-year-old Suzie, when she escaped from an unlocked cage in 2001. That teen was later sentenced to 30 days in jail after Casey told a jury that Suzie had been hit with a tranquilizer dart and was sitting peacefully when she was shot. The teen claimed Suzie was threatening him, his friends and his dog.