rescue centres
Background of the animals
The animals at AAP have different backgrounds: they come from the circus, have been used as ‘photo models’ to take pictures with tourists or lived for years as pets. Many of these animals have also been traded illegally: they have been taken from their natural habitat, smuggled into Europe and then sold to private individuals or circus owners.
AAP also takes in laboratory animals and animals from zoos that the authorities have to close down or whose animals have been confiscated. This happens for example in zoos where the care for the animals is substandard.
Animal species
Every year, hundreds of animals stay at AAP’s two rescue centres. About half of the animals are apes, such as the chimpanzee, baboon or the Barbary macaque. The other half consists of other species of exotic mammals, such as the tiger, lion, raccoon, coati, (silver) fox, serval and many other species.
Questions & answers - Animals at AAP
The animal species that AAP rescues range from primates such as chimpanzees to Barbary macaques, and from big cats such as lions and tigers to serval and caracal cats. We also rehabilitate other exotic mammals, such as raccoons, squirrels and degus.
In the Netherlands we only have a permit to keep exotic mammals with an adult weight of less than 100 kg. In addition we are not allowed to keep lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs and jaguars. Chimpanzees are an exception to this permit and we are allowed to keep them. In our rescue centre in Spain we are in principle allowed to keep all exotic mammals, but our current accommodations and expertise are not set up for keeping e.g. elephants or giraffes.
An exotic species is a plant, animal or other organism that does not occur naturally in the Netherlands. If a species is harmful to nature we call them invasive exotic species. Invasive exotic species arrive in the Netherlands as a result of inentional or unintentional human activity. Some exotic species feel perfectly at home in their new environment. They establish themselves in our environment and can multiply rapidly. The damage caused by invasive exotic species is a European problem. To tackle this problem as effectively as possible, a European regulation has been drafted. Since August 3, 2016, there is a European ban on possession, trade, cultivation, transport and import of harmful exotic plants and animals.
Our logo features an imaginary primate.
Animal departments
At AAP we have several departments where we take care of the animals. Each department is specially designed for the species that live there. For example, we have a special department for the chimpanzees and for the big cats. This way the animals can live together with their own kind and we can give them the best care. In the overview below you can see where we take care of the different species: in the Netherlands, Spain or both locations.
Want to know more? Click on the different categories below and learn more about the animal departments at AAP.
| AAP Netherlands | AAP Spain | |
| Quarantine | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Chimpanzees | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Other primates (such as Barbary macaques, pig-tailed macaques, long-tailed macaque, and Japanese macaques) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Big Cats (such as lions, tigers and leopards) | ✔️ | |
| Other mammals (such as raccoons, servals, tenrecs, common marmoset and silver foxes) | ✔️ |