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Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!
S. A. E. N.
"Exposing the truth to wipe out animal experimentation"

Newsletters
The Defender
Vol. 4, No. 2 - Spring 2006

The New Iberia Research Center – Chimpanzee Prison

The New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana is one of the largest primate concentration camps in the United States, incarcerating over 5000 of our closest relatives in any given year. The animals at this huge facility include macaque monkeys, vervets, and chimpanzees.

SAEN has previously exposed abuses within the macaque population of this laboratory. Causes of death for these animals have included trauma, heat stroke, aspiration pneumonia, and negligence. 1/3 of the primates who died had little or no body fat, indicating serious illness.

The use of chimpanzees in experimentation is one of our nation’s least-known tragedies. These intelligent primates who share roughly 98% of our DNA often respond psychologically to the barren captivity of the laboratory by exhibiting stereotypical behavior. They also suffer terribly in research involving diseases, such as hepatitis and HIV. Today, over 1300 chimps are held captive in U.S. labs.

Perhaps the most significant part of this tragedy depends on the lifespan of the chimpanzee species. In captivity chimpanzees can live up to 60 years. One of the NIRC chimps, Karen, is listed with a birth year of 1958. This unfortunate animal has spent over 47 years imprisoned within barren labs. Other chimpanzees at this facility have been suffering silently for similar periods. Diana and Lady Bird have been locked up since 1960, as have Jan, Julius, and Pumpkin. Wanda has been caged since January of 1963. Hope and Penny have been imprisoned since 1964. The heartbreak of this atrocity is something that we cannot fully comprehend. The list of 140 chimps housed at NIRC which we obtained from the National Institutes of Health is posted on our website at: http://www.saenonline.org/res-chimps-nirc.html . They are incarcerated without parole, though they have committed no crime other than being similar to humans.

Many of the chimps at the NIRC were wild-caught. This means that at one point in their lives they lived in their natural habitat. This must be a painful memory for them. Their longing for freedom must be intense.

It is no surprise that many captive primates, chimps, and other species literally lose their minds. I cannot imagine facing the daily reality of imprisonment within a place like the NIRC, but over 140 chimps do just that every day. As of now, the only release for these innocent victims is in death.

We MUST win their freedom!

Please contact these officials to demand the immediate retirement to sanctuaries of the 140 chimpanzees who are part of the Chimpanzee Breeding and Research Program at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana.

Dr. Barbara M. Alving, Acting Director
National Center for Research Resources
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 3B11, MSC 2128
Bethesda, MD 20892-2128
[email protected]
(301) 496-5793
(301) 402-0006 fax

Dr. Ray Authement, President
University of Louisiana, Lafayette
Office of the President
PO Box 41008
Lafayette, LA 70504
[email protected]
(337) 482-6203
(337) 482-5914 fax

Go on to Whose Side is the USDA on?
Return to Vol. 4, No. 2 - Spring 2006
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