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In August, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a frequently asked questions page about their planned transfer of the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees for use in invasive research. To read the NIH document in full, please see this link.
This document fails to address the controversial history of chimpanzees at The Coulston Foundation, whose terrible conditions were funded for years by the National Institutes of Health before NIH finally seized the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) chimpanzees in 2000. Additionally, NIH makes broad statements in this document that neglect to tell the whole story.
NIH states concerns about the current APF contract: “Due to the declining population of chimpanzees at APF, the relatively high cost of the contract and the fact that chimpanzees cannot be returned to APF once they are transferred for research studies, the NIH's National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has arranged for the transfer of the remaining chimpanzees at the APF to the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) in San Antonio, Texas, as the contract draws to an end.”
However:
• The cost of the current management contract is high because NIH entered into a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with biomedical research company Charles River Laboratories in 2001. Charles River receives the highest per diem cost of care per chimpanzee in the nation ($67/chimp/day in FY09), yet was charged with criminal animal cruelty in New Mexico. U.S. chimpanzee sanctuaries can care for ex-research chimps for $41/day and are the best choice for the health and welfare of the chimps, but NIH currently does not consider retiring these chimps as an option.
• The population of chimpanzees at APF is declining because NIH keeps shipping them to other labs, although at any given time no more than 20% of the ~1,000 government-supported chimps are used in research protocols.
• The contract terms which state APF chimps cannot be shipped to another facility and then shipped back are already violated. According to NIH records in recent months, 12 Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees (Henry, Tommy, Funface, Richard, Fred B, Gus, Zachary, Rocky, Ashley, Marsha, Cocoa, and Jane) were moved back to APF from New Iberia Research Center.
NIH states the chimps are needed for research:
“The development of a vaccine could protect future generations against infection with Hepatitis C virus, in the same manner as the vaccine that protects against Hepatitis B. In addition to being used for infectious disease research, these animals also may be used in drug safety and efficacy testing.”
However:
• The United States is the last developed nation still using chimpanzees for invasive research. Countries around the world pursue infectious disease research and drug safety and efficacy testing without using chimps.
• Chimpanzees were used historically because researchers felt there was little other option, despite many admitting numerous and serious caveats with the chimpanzee model and stressing the urgent need for in vitro viral culture systems to accelerate discovery. In vitro culture systems for the study of Hepatitis C exist today.
• Past reliance on the chimpanzee model, such as for the study of HIV, has resulted in a waste of millions in funding and years of time, therefore setting back progress in various areas of research.
• In 2010, non-animal technologies for vaccine development and drug testing are actively pursued by industry and government, notably the U.S. Department of Defense has contracted to develop vaccines with non-animal models because of increased speed and accuracy of development.
NIH states the animals are protected:
“The use of animals in research is highly regulated at the federal and local institutional levels. There are three levels of review and oversight for NCRR-funded use of chimpanzees in research that ensure humane and fair treatment of these animals.”
However:
• Federal and local institutional protections failed to protect the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees, and their deceased relatives and colleagues, under management at The Coulston Foundation and Charles River Laboratories.
• According to USDA reports, animals at Southwest National Primate Research Center, where the APF chimpanzees are scheduled for shipment, have been subjected to necropsy (animal autopsy) while still alive and have injured workers in efforts to escape.
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Reviews justify the use of animals in experiments. Ethically, no IACUC can justify putting these specific chimpanzees through more trauma.
NIH does not answer their own question about when chimpanzees are retired from research:
“The federal government is committed to supporting the chimpanzees that it owns throughout their lives, including after they are retired from research. The eligibility of federally supported chimpanzees for retirement is established by the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act of 2000 (PDF requires free Acrobat Reader). Since the opening of the federal sanctuary currently operated by Chimp Haven in 2005, about 140 chimpanzees in the federal population have been retired.”
However:
• NIH plans to use our tax dollars to continue to warehouse the APF chimpanzees in a lab. This arrangement benefits labs, which make money off the chimpanzees, but is out of touch with the ethical concerns of the public and current scientific knowledge.
• All of the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees deserve permanent retirement and sanctuary care in 2010.
NIH states that the costs to build facilities at Southwest National Primate Research Center are negligible:
“The current estimate for renovations at the SNPRC is between $2 million and $3 million.”
However:
• Alamogordo Primate Facility was built with many millions of taxpayer dollars. Despite numerous attempts, Animal Protection of New Mexico has not been able to discover the total cost to taxpayers to build and equip Alamogordo Primate Facility, but it is above $10 million, the amount of a grant awarded to New Mexico State University in 1993 to construct APF. Through pictures and visits in recent years, it is obvious that additional taxpayer dollars have been invested in APF since 1993. The cost of abandoning the taxpayer investment in APF is never addressed by NIH.
• The $2-3 million dollar figure to renovate Southwest National Primate Research Center is not substantiated by NIH, and this relatively low figure seems inconsistent with the dollars spent over many years on APF.
NIH states there is no use for Alamogordo Primate Facility:
“Because APF houses only NCRR-supported chimpanzees, it does not have the potential to provide long-term job security. NIH anticipates no need for the facility after the chimpanzees now at APF are transferred to SNPRC.”
However:
• APF can be used to house retired chimpanzees. While NIH partially funds one chimp sanctuary in Louisiana, a second chimp sanctuary in New Mexico could provide permanent retirement, sanctuary care, and a opportunity for observational research.
• The federal government supported breeding and purchase of these chimpanzees for use in invasive research for decades. Today we can give something back to these animals by providing permanent retirement, dignity and peace. This solution would also provide for a continued use of Alamogordo Primate Facility, keep federal dollars in the state to care for the chimps, and keep jobs and the economy intact in Alamogordo.
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