Primadomus Spain

A new rescue centre was built
In 2009, AAP has finished the first phase of Primadomus, a lifetime care centre in the South of Spain. The centre is situated on 180 hectares of land, bought by AAP especially with the purpose of permanently housing groups of primates that cannot, for whatever reason, be outplaced elsewhere. This usually regards groups that are too large for a zoo to take in, or species that zoos and animal parks are not interested in having.

The plot of land is spacious, and the natural environment very well suited to accommodate large groups of primates. Its location is 7,5 kilometers south of Villena (30.000 inhabitants), in the Spanish region of Alicante, at the foot of the mountain chain Sierra de Salinas. A large part of the land will retain the function of nature reserve that it already has now.

Visit the picture gallery of Primadomus.

AAP decided to work in Spain for a reason. First of all, a lot more space is available in Spain than in the Netherlands. Second, both climate and habitat are extremely suitable for primates. Another important factor is that the cost for caring for the rescued animals is much lower in Spain than in the Netherlands.

The inhabitants

In November 2009, ten chimpanzees, known as 'Patrick's group', moved to Primadomus. Last November, two other groups followed: Diallo's group (Hamadryas baboons) and Lazaros's group (Crab eating macaques). Space will be available for no less than 150 animals (70 chimpanzees and 80 other primates) in total. This will give AAP's rescue centre in Almere the opportunity to help more animals than it does now.

Visit the picture gallery of the transport of Patrick's group to Primadomus.

Read the news about the moving of Diallo's group and Lazaros's group.

The original plan was to move a group to Spain, consisting of 33 healthy chimpanzees that had been used as breeding animals at the Dutch laboratory BPRC. However, delays in the building of Primadomus made it necessary to seek an alternative for this group. Fortunately, permanent housing was found in animal park De Beekse Bergen, where the group now lives.

Cooperation with the municipality

In establishing Primadomus, AAP works closely together with the Spanish authorities. A piece of land was given to the local authorities, where an education centre was built to provide information on the nature surrounding the city of Villena. At the same time, the centre will be available for AAP to give information its activities. Also, AAP is helping the municipality in protecting the 'pino piñonero' (a native kind of pine-tree), by safeguarding a piece of forest where the tree grows. The piece of forest on AAP-land is used as the basis for an initiative for reforestation and education.

Open for visitors?

It is not possible to visit the rescue centre Primadomus unannounced. However, we do plan to arrange guided tours on a small scale. Through giving information at the municipality's education centre and by partaking in local projects, we hope to contribute to public awareness of animal wellfare as a whole, and the protection of individual animals specifically.