U.S. University Ends Chimp Research, Retires Animals

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U.S. University Ends Chimp Research, Retires Animals

 

February 22, 2006 — By Tom Doggett and Chris Baltimore, Reuters

WASHINGTON — Ohio State University said on Tuesday it was closing its

chimpanzee research program and sending its remaining nine chimps to a refuge

where they will no longer be used for research.

 

The university said it was following the lead of other institutions that have

scaled back research using chimpanzees, the closest genetic relative of human

beings.

 

" While we are rightfully proud of the outstanding research that has evolved from

Ohio State's primate cognition project in the last decade or so, we believe the

time is now right to move the animals to safer quarters where they can live out

their lives in peace, " said Robert McGrath, senior vice president for research

at the university.

 

" In recent years, research institutions across the country -- including the Air

Force, the National Institutes of Health and the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration -- have elected to reduce the amount of primate research they

conduct and retire many of their animals, " the university added in a statement.

 

" That has made locating an appropriate long-term home for the animals a more

difficult task for Ohio State. " It said it took four years to find an

appropriate home for the chimpanzees in San Antonio, Texas.

 

" Ohio State is paying for construction of that facility, for medical exams and

shipping, and providing an endowment to support the animals, " it said.

 

The chimpanzees, who live in a family-like group, will be taken to Primarily

Primates, Inc., which is north of San Antonio.

 

" This sanctuary is one of the best in the country for chimpanzees and offers

these animals a much better environment than we are able to provide at this

time. The staff there is well-respected nationally and completely dedicated to

the health and well-being of the animals in their care, " said William

Yonushonis, director of the Office of Laboratory Animal Resources at OSU.

 

Source: Reuters

 

 

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