Meet Roxanne! She’s a 34-year old monkey rescued from biomedical testing labs and sent to the Black Beauty Ranch for sanctuary.

“She’s a great representation of why we do what we do,” Director Noelle Almrud, said. “She spent many years in hearing and dental studies, she’s missing most of her teeth, doesn’t have very good hearing. We’re happy to provide for her.”

Roxanne is one example of many. The animal refuge in Murchison has more than 40 different animal species they take in and care for.

“These animals come to us with emotional scars as well as physical scars,” Almrud said. “But the way we look at it is they served man whether they wanted to or not, and it’s our duty to provide for them, so we serve them.”

The Black Beauty Ranch has more than 1,400 acres of land and close to 1,000 rescue animals.

“We have a huge respect for these animals and they deserve to have the best quality of life for whatever time they have left,” Almrud said.

Black Beauty Ranch is looking to expand their primates habitat. They plan on using new land so the monkeys can have areas with trees to climb.

“We are required to fundraise a large portion of our budget, so we need all the donations we can get,” Almrud said. “We provide only the best for our animals and unfortunately that requires a lot of money.”

The ranch hosts a limited amount of tours each year.

“We want to educate the public because we want to tell people why these animals are here and hopefully stop the reasons their being exploited.”

For more information about the ranch and their animals, visit their website here. The Black Beauty Ranch is a non-profit organization and counts on donations for funding.

They are hoping to start building their new primates exhibit this year if the funding is there. You can do your part for the animal sanctuary by donating through their website or buying the animals things off their wish list!