History/Background
Until 1997 captive chimpanzees confiscated from poachers or private owners by Guinean law enforcement officers were placed in foster care in one of two orphanages (VSF compound in Bissikrima or Mrs. Raballand's orphanage in Conakry).
In 1996, however, Mrs. Janis Carter received a $600,000 grant from the European Union to set up a chimpanzee conservation project in Guinea. The project had three parts: a survey of wild chimpanzee populations, an education program, and a chimpanzee rehabilitation center. During 1996, Mrs. Carter built the existing enclosure at the Park as a pre-rehabilitation facility. In 1997, all the chimpanzees from the two orphanages, plus others coming from private owners, were transferred to the enclosure at the Park. The two small orphanages were then closed.
Support from the EU ended in October 1998 and as of June 1999, the EU project was closed. Responsibility for care of the chimpanzees fell on the DNEF (the Guinean government agency responsible for the protection of the environment and wildlife). The DNEF subsequently asked Mrs. Raballand, President of PPI, for assistance. Since June 1999, Mrs. Raballand has worked as the Director of the CCC and President of PPI, its legal entity.
The funders of the CCC are/were:
- The Humane Society of the United States
- The Prince Bernhard Nature Fund
- The Arcus Foundation
- The Edith J. Goode Residuary Trust
- Kislak Foundation
- USAID
- SMD Lero
- The International Primate Protection League
- The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA),
which donated the electrical fence in 2001.
- CCC has also received individual gifts from private donors overseas, as well as SMD Lero.
- The Guinean Agriculture Ministry, through the DNEF, also contributed by
paying half of the CCC's staff salaries until September 2000.
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