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Researcher loses court case; OSU chimps moving to Texas

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Mike Lafferty

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH

Psychologist Sally Boysen, right, and supporter Kellie Difrischia chained themselves to the gate of an Ohio State research center in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the removal of nine chimpanzees.

Ohio State began shipping nine chimpanzees to a Texas animal refuge yesterday, despite protesters spending hours at the entrance to its Northwest Side research center trying to stop the move.

 

Sally Boysen, a university psychologist who has cared for the animals for 23 years, chained herself to a gate late yesterday afternoon at the research center, on OSU property near Don Scott Field on the city’s Northwest Side.

About a dozen animal activists joined her, some also chaining themselves to the gate.

 

Boysen’s action came after Federal District Judge Algenon L. Marbley refused her request yesterday for a temporary restraining order to halt the chimps’ transfer.

 

A week ago, OSU announced that it would close one of its most visible scientific-research efforts because Boysen has been unable to find additional funds to support the lab.

 

Still, she called the university’s action yesterday a "commando raid" when workers rolled up in a truck and prepared to remove the five male and four female chimps.

 

Boysen has been recognized worldwide for her research, which demonstrated learning experiments with the chimpanzees, taught them rudimentary reading and math, and showed that the animals exhibited caring.

 

William Yonushonis, who is in charge of lab animals at Ohio State, said the decision to move the animals was reached after the court hearing.

 

But it was mere minutes after the judge’s decision that a truck pulled up to the center and workers began to load the chimpanzees for the trip to the Primarily Primates refuge near San Antonio.

 

"They will go nonstop to Texas," Yonushonis said.

 

Shortly after some of the chimps were put in the trailer, the transfer was halted because of protesters at the gate.

 

Dozens of police cruisers from Columbus, Ohio State and Perry Township arrived after Boysen and others chained themselves to the gate, saying they wouldn’t let the trailer leave.

 

After they were threatened with arrest, they unchained themselves but stayed at the gate.

 

Police came and went through the night. Finally, shortly after 10 p.m., the trailer was escorted out of the facility by several cruisers.

 

Boysen stood with her hands folded in front of her. Many of her supporters had tears in their eyes.

 

Boysen said she was part of the chimps’ social circle and that the move will be devastating to them.

 

"If anything, I should have jumped on the truck and gone with them," she said.

 

Her next step, she said, will be to attempt to get the chimps back through court action, "but to another home in the greater Columbus area."

 

Last week, university officials changed the locks in the research center and placed it under campus police guard.

 

While research funding has dried up in recent years, income from the university and television programs featuring the animals has paid the bills since the end of 2002.

 

The center has operated under an agreement between Boysen and the university. Boysen’s suit in federal court said the move violated donor agreements under which eight of the chimpanzees came to Boysen’s lab. She purchased one animal.

 

Boysen also has called the chimps her "intellectual property."

 

She said the refuge cannot properly care for the chimpanzees.

 

Marbley said the animals were the property of Ohio State even though they were given to Boysen for use in her research and that she had opportunities to decide on their future home.

 

"The university has the chimpanzees’ best interests at heart under the circumstances," he said.

 

Dispatch reporter Kevin Kidder contributed to this story.

mlafferty AT dispatch.com 

 

local news video:

 

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4560543&nav=LUESMuat

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