About Our Project

We are a group that believes in compassionate conservation. Compassionate conservation merges animal welfare and conservation science to promote the respect, justice, and compassion of all wildlife. We recognize that all individuals matter and encourage a peaceful coexistence of human-wildlife interactions. The need for this approach is crucial as it is estimated that up to 50% of all species on the planet will disappear within the next 50 years (Koh et al. 2004). Compassionate conservation is an innovative framework that helps reshape our current conservation and management practices.

Our Founder,
Dr. Missy Williams, PHD

Biography

Missy is a scientist with a passion for animal welfare and conservation. She received her Ph.D. from Florida Atlantic University in Integrative Biology. She founded the Dania Beach Vervet Project while completing her dissertation when she realized that the monkeys were lacking welfare and conservation efforts. She believes that animals are individuals that express emotional and cognitive complexities, and are not dispensable objects. Missy prioritizes animal welfare in decision making as she considers it a moral duty to foster co-existence between humans and nature.

How Did the Monkeys Get Here?

How did monkeys from West Africa end up in Dania Beach, Florida? The Anthropoid Ape Research Foundation was opened in the 1940’s by Leila Roosevelt and Armand Dennis in Dania Beach north of the canal. An AARF employee, Bill Westley, traveled to Africa to collect animals for the facility. He sent back various animals to AARF, including the vervets or green monkeys. The monkeys escaped their enclosure in 1948 and have called the Dania Beach mangroves home since then. They are a treasured part of the Dania Beach community.

Our Interns

Our Intern Program is vital to everything we do at the Dania Beach Vervet Project and the Monkeys are lucky to have such an amazing group of caring and intellegent young people looking out for them.