Dylan Bettencourt
Three baby chimpanzees from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom.
The animals have been kidnapped and rescued in the past but have once again been taken from a sanctuary in Congo.
Founders and heads of the Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga (Jack) Roxanne and Franck Chantereau said they received videos of the animals from the kidnappers.
The footage shared on the Jack Facebook page showed the chimpanzees running around at an unknown location scattered with tipped-over furniture, Business Insider reported.
One of the baby chimpanzees had their arms tied above their head.
The kidnappers threatened to kill one of the animals and sell the other two to Chinese traffickers unless a large ransom was paid.
Roxanne and Franck and their two children were threatened that they would be murdered by the kidnappers.
The Chantereau family said chimpanzees are often kidnapped for the pet and meat trade of rare animals as they sell for large sums on the black market.
The three chimpanzees named Hussain, Monga, and César had all gone through this traumatic experience before.
“They went through hell, their families were killed, they were sold, transported, and extensive financial resources were put forward to repatriate them,” Chantereau said.
Data shows that for every young chimpanzee kidnapped around eight to 10 adults are killed by poachers. That amounts to around 3,000 to 5,000 chimps being killed in Congo alone every year, France Info reported.
The sanctuary often deals with animals being kidnapped but this is the first time the animals are being held for ransom.
Chimpanzees are not the only animals being targeted either, earlier this year an endangered pangolin was held for ransom in another part of the country.
The two incidents have left sanctuaries and authorities worried that this may become a pattern for criminals in future.
Image source: @NewYorkPost
