Working chimps retire in style

Hundreds of chimpanzees, no longer needed for medical research, must find a home.

August 24, 1999
Web posted at: 10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 GMT)

Hundreds of chimpanzees in the United States are in the market for retirement homes as they wrap up their careers in zoos, research and entertainment.

To help them out, a volunteer organization called Chimp Haven is building the first sanctuary in the United States devoted exclusively to providing housing for chimpanzees. The facility is being developed in conjunction with the Eddie D. Jones Nature Park on land in Caddo Parish, La.

There is a growing national concern about the long-term care of chimpanzees previously used in research. Due to the success of captive breeding programs and the recent downward trend in medical research using chimpanzees, of the 1,600 chimpanzees housed in research laboratories, hundreds are no longer needed.

Because they have not been reared in the wild, laboratory chimpanzees do not have the capacity to survive on their own. "We cannot turn our backs on all these special beings," explains Peggy Cunnif, executive director of the National Anti-Vivisection Society. "Chimpanzees have many social, emotional, and behavioral requirements that are similar to humans. It is our moral and ethical responsibility to let them live out their lives in a humane environment that addresses those needs."

Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Ga., has said that as many as 100 of its chimpanzees will be the first retirees to move into the Chimp Haven facility. "This is an excellent opportunity to find a home for chimpanzees," said Dr. Tom Insel, director of Yerkes.

The chimpanzees who relocate at Chimp Haven will live out their days in state-of-the-art facilities on 200 acres of oak and pine forests and vistas that include ponds, streams and fields of wildflowers. The facility will offer a more cost-effective alternative to laboratory housing. "The northern Louisiana climate and ecology are perfect for chimpanzees," explains Chimp

The northern Louisiana climate and ecology of the Chimp Haven facility are ideal for chimpanzees.

Haven President Linda Brent. "I am pleased the area's civic leaders are eager to take a world leadership in creating a facility that celebrates and protects the animals that have given most of their lives to improve the human condition."

Acclaimed chimpanzee researcher Dr. Jane Goodall, is enthusiastic about Chimp Haven. "A number of sanctuaries will be needed to provide the social and physical environments that these chimpanzees need and deserve. I am delighted to hear about the generosity of the people of northwest Louisiana making one such haven possible. On behalf of the chimpanzees, thank you."

Michael Williams, president of the Caddo Parish Commission, says he and his fellow community leaders believe Chimp Haven will provide a number of opportunities for the local community. "We want to give the chimpanzees an ideal retirement home and, at the same time, provide a unique conservation education resource for residents and visitors from around the world."

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