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INSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENT
The Mona Foundation is a non-profit entity registered with the Justice Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomy of Catalunya) with the registration number 1404. It is run by three directors: Olga Feliu, Amparo Barba, and Manuel Mañana and its purpose is to save wild primates that have been illegally captured and are being used for commercial and personal purposes under bad living conditions. The foundation has established a center for the recovery of primates near Girona surrounded by nature which serves as a home for rescued primates and a place to understand and respect wild animals and the fact that they must live in their natural habitat.

ORIGINS

Olga Feliu, the president of the Mona Foundation and the driving force of the project, began her involvement in the protection of primates as a veteran working with Simon Templer (representative of IPPLen Spain) and as a volunteer in a recovery center in Camerun. Both of these experiences motivated her to continue with this cause and expand to Spain.
Upon her return from Africa, she decided, along with Amparo and Manel, to create a foundation dedicated to the protection of primates and in 2000 the Mona Foundation was born. A year later, they founded the center for the recovery of primates of Riudellots de la Selva with the arrival of a group of chimpanzees from Valencia.


WHY A CENTER FOR PRIMATES IN SPAIN?

This large number of chimpanzees in Spain is due to many years of illegal trafficking of primates for the purpose of circus training or touristic attractions. During the 70s and 80s it was common to see photographers with chimps all over the Spanish coast who offered tourists pictures with their chimps for a price. This has been less common in the recent past; however, there has been other exploitation of primates such as for circuses, zoos, commercials or other various television announcements and other attractions that had the potential for profit.
This issue is very common in Spain and Europe. There are currently many other primates being exploited for private collections, zoos, circuses, and amusement parks, living in terrible conditions. In most cases, they end up alone without the company of other primates because people don’t realize or care that they are very social animals with an exceptional level of intelligence.
In 2001, the Customs Department of the Ministry of Economics recognized the recovery center of the Mona Foundation as suitable for housing primates and brought them the first group of chimpanzees that had been confiscated from a former circus trainer. These primates had been living with unacceptable hygiene and subpar care for eight years in a broken-down semi truck.



FINANCING

The foundation depends on the help of individuals and entities interested and concerned with the issue of illegal trafficking of primates and their commercial use as well as their survival in their natural habitat. Ever since the beginning of the foundation, many individuals and entities have shown confidence in this project. Currently, 90% of the income comes from private funds and donations, while 10% comes from public. See the section GET INVOLVED and learn more about the different ways you can help.