Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary Closes After 60 Years
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- Wild Futures announced the permanent closure of its monkey sanctuary near Looe, Cornwall, which had operated since 1964 — more than 60 years
- The charity said the site had developed 'structural issues' making it unfit for purpose and no longer suitable as a long-term sanctuary
- A potential buyer was identified after the site went on the market in June 2025, but plans fell through after six months of negotiations
- Director Sarah Hanson said the charity could not responsibly invest 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' into a site whose maintenance costs now surpassed its resources
- Wild Futures has begun rehoming its monkeys to selected sanctuaries and organisations and will launch an emergency appeal to cover the 'significant costs'
- The sanctuary had already closed to the public for the rest of 2025 in March due to financial struggles, foreshadowing the permanent shutdown
- The sanctuary originally began by rescuing woolly monkeys from the pet trade and was the first Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries–accredited wildlife sanctuary in Europe
Why it matters: Europe's first GFAS-accredited wildlife sanctuary is shutting down after six decades, forcing the relocation of its rescued monkeys and ending Wild Futures' long-running public education and conservation work in Cornwall. The closure highlights how aging infrastructure and finite charity funds can overwhelm even pioneering animal-welfare operations.
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