Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary

Born Free USA's primate sanctuary is located south of San Antonio Texas and is one of only twenty such facilities in the nation and among the largest. On our 175-acre campus, we offer a permanent refuge to hundreds of macaques, baboons, and vervets rescued from abuse in roadside zoos or as pets in private homes or retired from animal experimentation. 

The Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).

Our History

The original inhabitants of the primate sanctuary were a troop of snow monkeys who arrived in Encinal, Texas from Japan in 1972. They were part of a troop that resided in the Arashiyama forest and was observed by behaviorists since 1954. Due to the primatologists’ providing extra food (provisioning) to the monkeys in order to more easily study them, the original troop grew very large and, around 1970, fractured into two distinct troops.

Members of troop “A” soon moved into the Kyoto suburbs in search of food. Because some residents viewed these animals as “pests,” the decision was made to relocate them. A concerned American citizen agreed to pay to transport the group to Encinal, Texas, where a sanctuary was then started. In December 1999, the Animal Protection Institute – which later merged with Born Free USA – took over the management of the Texas Snow Monkey Sanctuary. Since that time, the primate sanctuary has expanded to become a haven for not only descendants of the original trans-located troop, but also monkeys rescued from the pet trade and retired from experimentation or display. 

Our Philosophy

Born Free USA prides itself on providing individualized care for our residents, informed by life stage, health, and welfare needs. Due to the profoundly social nature of the species we care for, our golden rule is that no one lives alone.

The focus of animal care at the primate sanctuary is to provide conditions in which the captive populations of macaques, baboons, and vervet species are allowed to live out the remainder of their lives with extensive freedom of movement, choice of food, and choice of companions in accordance with their social nature. We aim to provide a lifelong, high standard of care without being needlessly intrusive. Our facility is unique among U.S. sanctuaries in that it is one of the very few to provide large free-ranging environments that allow the majority of the monkeys to live as natural a life as possible with a minimal amount of human interference.

In order to allow the monkeys privacy in their sanctuary home, and to avoid causing stress and anxiety to some of our previously traumatized monkeys, the primate sanctuary is not open to the public.