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http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090307/NEWS01/903070331

Chimps may be forced to retire

Allegations of abuse may spur Congress to ban experimentation.

By Ana Radelat

WASHINGTON — Allegations that chimps were abused at a New Iberia lab may aid 
an effort in Congress to ban experimentation on great apes and require 
retirement of hundreds of chimps at federal research labs



The Great Ape Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., would 
immediately ban the breeding of chimps for federal research and send hundreds 
of chimpanzees to sanctuaries.

The bill has 22 co-sponsors, none from Louisiana. Supporters are looking for 
a sponsor in the Senate.

If the bill is approved, dozens of retired chimps are likely to be sent to 
Chimp Haven in Keithville, a sanctuary for chimps used in federal research.

The legislation failed to move in the last Congress, but accusations of 
animal cruelty at the New Iberia lab may give it new life.

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would investigate 
allegations of abuse and neglect of chimps at the 100-acre New Iberia 
Research Center, where 325 chimps are kept. The research center also houses 
6,000 monkeys.

Besides breeding primates for research purposes, the research center also 
experiments on the animals.

After a nine-month undercover investigation, the Humane Society reported to 
the USDA that chimps at the facility lived in isolation and exhibited 
self-mutilating behavior, psychosis and other emotional and physical 
problems. It said it had documented 338 violations of the federal Animal 
Welfare Act, a 1966 law that regulates animal research, transportation, 
exhibition and breeding.

The New Iberia Research Center, part of the University of Louisiana at 
Lafayette, denies the allegations.

The Humane Society also asked Gov. Bobby Jindal to immediately transfer 26 
elderly chimps — the oldest is 51 — from the New Iberia center to a 
sanctuary, most likely Chimp Haven.

"If there's a way we can help, we're willing to help," Chimp Haven Director 
Linda Brent said.

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle wrote Jindal this week that "some of 
the saddest stories to come out of our investigation were those of the 26, 
wild-caught elderly chimpanzees" housed at the New Iberia lab.

Jindal's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Chimp Haven is nearly at capacity, housing 132 chimps. But Brent said the 
facility could easily expand to hold 300 to 350 chimps with the help of 
federal or private funds.

The United States is the largest remaining user of chimpanzees for biomedical 
research. Austria, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, 
Sweden and the United Kingdom have banned or limited their use.

The Humane Society estimates chimpanzee research and maintenance costs 
taxpayers $20 million to $25 million per year, money the society says could 
be allocated to more effective research.