Campaigns for Change

Chimps to Sanctuary

A Closer Look at NIH's Plan for Alamogordo Primate Facility
 History of Chimps in
    New Mexico
Lethal Kinship Report
FAQ on Alamogordo Primate Facility Chimpanzees

URGENT UPDATES ON CHIMPANZEES STILL
OWNED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: 9/1/10: APNM eAlert: Keep Constituent Pressure on Your Elected Officials -Ethics, Science, and the Economy are On the Chimps’ Side 8/22/10: Albuquerque Journal Guest Column -- Dear NIH: Chimp Testing Broke My Dad's Heart 8/17/10: KOAT -- Governor Richardson Meets With NIH for Alamogordo Primate Facility Chimpanzees 8/13/10: APNM eAlert: Chimpanzees Continue to Make Headlines 8/12/10: Albuquerque Journal Editorial -- Fed Stance on Chimps Cruel and Indefensible 8/10/10: Albuquerque Journal Story -- NIH Still Planning to Move Chimps 8/5/10: APNM eAlert: Five Actions to Help Alamogordo Primate Facility Chimpanzees 7/27/10: Easy Petition to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius 7/26/10: KOAT Video - Battle Brews Over Future For Research Chimps 7/23/10: APNM eAlert: Governor Richardson Speaks Out for Chimps 7/22/10: Governor Richardson Supports Efforts to Save Alamogordo Primate Facility Chimpanzees (pdf) 7/22/10: Albuquerque Journal Guest Column - Chimps Back in Nightmare 7/21/10: KOAT Video -- Chimps Moved for Research 7/19/10: APNM eAlert: Fifteen Chimpanzees Already Moved to Texas 7/16/10: Albuquerque Journal Editorial: Feds' Chimp Transfer a Lose-Lose-Lose Deal 7/8/10: APNM eAlert: Alamogordo Primate Facility Chimpanzees to Be Moved for Invasive Research Nicole, born February 25, 1983, shown here at just four or five years old. “Nicole was my best chimp buddy! She was 4 or 5 years old when we met. We had a wonderful rapport that I will NEVER forget. She was very easy to recognize because she had the most distinct, light brown eyes. She was beautiful, sensitive and gentle. Nicole tended to be very submissive. We would sit with each other every day. She had the most incredible sense of musical timing. I would sing to her and with the back of her hand she would take her nails and strum them across the chain link cage twice *Plink Plink* and then clap her hands twice *Clap Clap*. She would do this series of plinks and claps (always twice) in perfect rhythm to the song I was singing at the time. When I left APF, I promised to come back for her.”   – Holly, former maintenance worker

Since 2001, Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) has housed over 200 former research chimpanzees on Holloman Air Force Base, which does not permit invasive research on site.

While the chimpanzees at APF and the facility itself are owned by the federal government, a for-profit biomedical research company, Charles River Laboratories, has held a ten-year, $42.8 million dollar contract to manage the chimps. This contract is set to expire May 2011. In the course of their lives in research, every chimpanzee has been exposed to hepatitis and HIV, and some of the chimpanzees have lived in cages for many decades. The eldest chimp, Flo, turns 53 this September. These chimpanzees used to be part of the infamous Coulston Foundation colony.

Knowing that the Charles River Labs contract expires next year, APNM has been seeking permanent retirement for the APF chimpanzees. However, APNM has recently learned that the federal government has its own designs for the chimps: Beginning this summer, the National Institutes of Health intends to transfer the chimpanzees from APF to Texas to once again be subjected to invasive research. Read the letter (pdf) from National Center for Research Resources stating their plans.

The proposed move is a loss for New Mexico in every way: dozens of jobs will be lost caring for the chimpanzees in Alamogordo; millions of federal dollars coming into the state for care of the chimpanzees will be lost to Texas; most tragically, the chimpanzees will once again be subjected to painful experiments and the terror that comes from being involuntary research subjects.

THERE IS STILL TIME TO PREVENT THIS ETHICAL
AND ECONOMIC TRAVESTY, BUT WE MUST ACT NOW.

1. Please call your U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators and urge them to permanently retire the APF chimpanzees at the APF facility. APF was built with millions of taxpayer dollars and could provide a permanent home for the chimpanzees.

Your Senators:
Sen. Jeff Bingaman: (202) 224-5521
Sen. Tom Udall: (202) 224-6621

Your Representatives:
Congressional District 1 (Central New Mexico): Rep. Martin Heinrich: (202) 225-6316
Congressional District 2 (Southern New Mexico): Rep. Harry Teague: (202) 225-2365
Congressional District 3 (Northern New Mexico): Rep. Ben Ray Luján: (202) 225-6190

2. Sign up for e-alerts and we will keep you informed of the latest news about the APF chimpanzees.

3. Support our work for those without a voice, please donate to APNM.

New Mexico has a long and sordid history with lab chimpanzees. It is time to create a positive legacy for New Mexico's chimpanzees by ensuring permanent retirement for those who've given so much. Please see these links for more background (Lethal Kinship; Full History of Chimpanzees in NM)

Flo in an outdoor enclosure at the front of APF. Flo has lived with other elder chimpanzees with indoor-outdoor access, fresh fruit, and enrichment at APF in New Mexico. The expected captive chimpanzee lifespan is 50. Flo turns 53 this September. Why subject her to this move?