A federal judge has ruled that chimpanzees previously used for research in a New Mexico laboratory can be transferred to an animal sanctuary. A U.S. District Court judge in Maryland found this week the National Institutes of Health legally cannot refuse to send chimpanzees in the Alamogordo Primate Facility to a sanctuary.
SHREVEPORT, La. - We like to call it the chimp life.
That s the way Chimp Haven Director Amy Fultz described expanding the environment, scenery and surroundings at Chimp Haven in 2021. The staff has a lot to look forward to. Chimp Haven is home to over 300 chimpanzees, most of whom were used in biological research. Back in 2015 the federal government ended biomedical and research and designated Chimp Haven would be the place that they would retire, said Rana Smith, president and CEO.
Riley enjoys a hammock at the recently opened new corral.Â
For those not familiar, Chimp Haven is a non-profit chimpanzee sanctuary, nestled in the pines near Keithville. As many non-profit organizations struggled during the pandemic last year, Chimp Haven has announced major expansion plans.
Animal Protection of New Mexico and the Humane Society of the United States filed a federal lawsuit Jan. 14 against the National Institutes of Health about a group of chimpanzees residing on Holloman Air Force Base.
The suit alleges the National Institutes of Health violated federal law when 44 chimpanzees remained at the Alamogordo Primate Facility on the base in 2019 following a 2015 National Institutes of Health decision to end biomedical research on chimpanzees.
While at the facility, the chimps were used for biomedical research.
They were exposed to various microorganisms, per the NIH website, such as hepitus C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and used in stem cell research.