Shame of health toll on zoo apes

Report says our close cousins aré ill and stressed in captivity

- BY NADA FARHOUD Environment Editor

GREAT apes kept in zoos suffer from chronic stress, obesity, heart disease and poor mental health, warns a new report.

More than 1,500 gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees and orangutans are currently in European zoos, with more than 300 in the UK alone.

But wildlife charity Born Free says the intelligent creatures experience traumatic births, stillbirths, maternal rejection and infanticide as a result of life in captivity.

A report says zoos will never meet great apes' complex physical, emotional and social needs.

As a result, they have to be medicated with antidepressants.

The charity is calling for "jungle not jail" and urged the public not to visit attractions which exploit our closest cousins.

Ian Redmond, an advisor to Born Free and world-renowned great ape expert, said: "Having had the privilege of spending time with great apes in their natural habitat, I find it increasingly uncomfortable seeing their lives in captivity.