New year of hope comes for more New Mexico chimps
After years of work by advocates to stop the breeding and alleged abuse of chimpanzees in invasive research laboratories, good news has come for chimps held in New Mexico.
Officials with Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) have shared photos that show Alamogordo primate facility chimpanzees named Ellie and Cocoa to be among the first chimps in the state to be retired to sanctuary in nearly 15 years.
“These chimps are part of a group of 25 who have won the support of a new grant from the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund to support their care at Chimp Haven,” a news release said. Chimp Haven is located in Keithville, Louisiana.
Other photos show chimpanzees named Rosie, Elijah and Casey as they relax and grow accustomed to chimp life in sanctuary. “These New Mexico chimps had been stuck in a Texas lab. They were part of a large group who arrived to Chimp Haven in the spring,” the release said.
APNM says that in the 1990s, nearly 600 chimpanzees were bred and held captive in the southern portion of New Mexico by the now-defunct Coulston Foundation, supported by federal tax dollars. They say chimps endured years of torture, pain and trauma in invasive research labs, but that no invasive testing has occurred in New Mexico since 2001. In addition, officials say the National Institutes of Health has ended support for invasive testing in recent years. “But there are still over 100 chimpanzees in Alamogordo waiting for the chance to reach sanctuary,” APNM said.
The Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund is a project of the New Mexico Community Foundation. It has announced its latest grant of $112,500 to help support 25 chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility who will now live in sanctuary at Chimp Haven. The Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund is guided by four expert advisers and makes grants to accredited sanctuaries to support the retirement of chimpanzees, say officials.
“These chimps, most of whom are elderly and suffer from chronic illness, deserve improved housing in sanctuary where their needs can be met,” said Laura Bonar, adviser to the fund and chief program and policy officer at APNM. “We have a narrow window of opportunity to do the right thing for survivors like Ellie and Elijah,” she said in a statement.
Cathy Spraetz, president and CEO of Chimp Haven, said the organization’s No. 1 goal is to ensure the safety of the chimps as they are transported to their new home. “We have loved hearing and seeing these chimps hoot with emotion and embrace one another in sanctuary,” said Spraetz.
APNM says that in the 1950s, the U.S. Air Force shipped 65 infant chimpanzees from West Africa to Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo for use in testing prior to manned space flight. In 2011, New Mexicans helped end the use of chimps in invasive testing nationwide after an independent scientific review found almost all the research unnecessary for human health. Surviving chimps held on Holloman are getting the chance to head to sanctuary, where they can thrive as part of a chimp family.
More information is available at apnm.org.
