A few chimps left New Mexico for a sanctuary in Louisiana

A group of research chimpanzees in New Mexico that were previously considered too weak or too sick to be moved to a state sanctuary will be going to a retirement home.

Officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said they reconsidered their decision to leave the chimps at their facility after learning that more than half of the existing keepers expected to quit their jobs and retire. job before July 2025.

The latest NIH count says 23 chimps live at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF), located at New Mexico’s Holloman Air Force Base.

The remote, desert location makes it difficult to recruit the specialized staff that will be needed to replace departing staff, NIH officials said.

“We’ve decided that it makes sense for animals to run it,” says Tara Schwetz, NIH’s Assistant Director for Program Coordination, Planning and Policy.

He emphasized that these chimps receive the highest level of care where they are. “It’s a question of sustainability and the long-term ability to maintain that level of care,” says Schwetz.

The presence of chimps at the Alamogordo Primate Facility has been controversial for years, with groups such as the Humane Society of the United States questioning the NIH’s determination in 2019 that all of the chimps were too old or too old. is not healthy enough to survive the stress of moving to a 200.-acre sanctuary called Chimp Haven near Shreveport, Louisiana.

The NIH, which funds health research, stopped funding invasive research on chimpanzees in 2015. But it still has more than 300 chimps to care for and care for, as these animals they can live over 60 years. NIH’s goal was to get as many people as possible to Chimp Haven.

The primates at Chimp Haven generally live in larger social groups than are common in research facilities. They also have access to forested areas, although some areas of Chimp Haven are similar to those found in research centers.

The problem is that as chimps age, they can develop serious health conditions similar to those of older people, such as heart disease and diabetes. And changing the environment in which chimps live can cause unusual stress. These highly social beings develop bonds with people they may have known for years.

So, while the agency has gradually moved most of its chimps from research facilities to Chimp Haven, it has said that a very small number of chimps, including the Alamogordo chimps, will remain where they are, for their safety.

Schwetz notes that many of the veterinary and veterinary staff at Alamogordo “have worked with these animals for over two decades or more, so they are passionate about providing the highest quality care for the animals.”

However, this summer, Schwetz visited Alamogordo and learned that most of the workers have plans to retire or leave in the not-too-distant future. As a result, the concern of ensuring that continuous care changed the calculations of the authorities about the benefits and risks of transferring these chimps to the sanctuary.

“We have to think about the health and well-being of these animals, first and foremost,” says Schwetz, who adds that NIH is working with Chimp Haven on how to properly transfer these chimps, which ts a difficult and complex process.

“We are pleased with their decision and strongly believe that Chimp Haven is the best place for retired chimpanzees to live out their lives in the natural environment available,” said Rana Smith, Chimp’s president and chief executive officer. Haven, they told NPR in an email.

He said the sanctuary expected to receive the first chimpanzees early next year, but would need to build an additional building to accommodate them all.

“Earlier this year, Chimp Haven developed plans to expand if additional NIH chimpanzees can be transferred to the sanctuary,” Smith said. “We expect the expansion to cost at least $4 million, which we will need to raise from private donors since the NIH does not support construction costs.”

He says next year is Chimp Haven’s 20th anniversary of taking in retired chimps, and that the shelter’s staff knows how to make a smooth transition so Alamogordo’s chimps can start a happy life—or, well, as Chimp Haven prefers to call it, Chimp Life.

He says: “We have hope that we can transfer them to the sanctuary safely. “We’re delighted to give them the opportunity to spend the rest of their lives in a beautiful, forested environment amongst a group of friends who live the Chimp Life – it’s just right for them.”