(PCM) Animal rights activists in Louisiana have filed a lawsuit to have a chimpanzee named Candy removed from a Baton Rouge amusement park. The suit claims that the amusement park staff and Candy’s caretakers allow the chimpanzee to smoke cigarettes and drink highly caffeinated soft drinks rather than water.
The lawsuit, which sums up a battle that has been going on for years, goes on to claim that Candy is kept in a cage that is both inadequate in size and isolated. The animal rights activists feel that Candy should be relocated to an animal sanctuary to live out the rest of her days.
The activists claim that by allowing amusement park visitors to throw items, including lit cigarettes into Candy’s cage, which she then smokes, is a direct violation of the Endangered Species Act. This lawsuit is the first filed under a new federal rule that requires captive chimps get the same protection as wild chimps and they are all classified as an endangered species.
An attorney for the amusement park claims that the animal rights activists fail to understand that there has been an attempt to relocate Candy in the past and she did not take well to the new environment so she was returned. The amusement park was cited back in 2012 for failure to provide water for Candy and their claim was that she didn’t like it and will only drink Coca-Cola.
When experts made a visit to check on Candy’s condition they, however offered her water and she drank it willingly. Water is essential to all life! The amusement park has not yet made a statement in regards to the newly filed lawsuit and currently Candy still resides in Baton Rouge Park.
