Many of you know the story of the Alamogordo chimps.  They endured horrorific conditions at The Coulston Foundation, where three chimps actually cooked to death in 1995, when the temperature in their unmonitored enclosure reached 140 degrees.  Dozens of chimps died "unintended deaths," and the lab was repeatedly investigated, and cited, for animal welfare violations, financial irregularities, and problems with the integrity  of their data.  Despite ongoing violations of federal animal welfare laws, and a lack of oversight, The National Inistitutes of Health helped to keep the lab afloat, funneling at least $10,000,000 in funding to the lab, between 1993 and 2000. 

Testifying before Congress in 2000, In Defense of Animals claimed that NIH's funding of the lab was illegal, because federal law requires the NIH director to "suspend or revoke" funding if a lab is not accredited by AAALAC, and does not have a functioning review committee.  By 2001, the lab had lost all financial viability, and was facing numerous charges. 

In 2002, after a long battle to save these tortured animals, Save The Chimps was allowed to purchased the disgraced facility.  266 chimpanzees, and 61 monkeys were promptly freed to sanctuaries.  Unfortunately, nearly 200 Coulston chimpanzees did not make it to the sanctuaries; instead, they remained in New Mexico under the control of the National Institutes of Health at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) on Holloman Air Force Base. The Air Force said these chimpanzees would undergo no additional experimentation.

Now, the NIH wants to return them all to experimentation. 

Doctors and scientists with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) have filed a federal complaint with Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to prevent the planned transfer of these chimp survivors.  The doctors' legal petition invokes the Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act, enacted to ensure the retirement and sanctuary placement of chimpanzees who have endured numerous years of experimentation.  Many Alamogordo chimpanzees are elderly, and have been used repeatedly for invasive procedures.  Many suffer from heart disease, making them especially unsuitable for medical experiments.  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and primatologist Jane Goodall have also spoken out against the proposed transfer. 

NIH has done enough damage.  After years of propping up The Coulston Foundation, and allowing the cruelty there to continue, they now want to start the cycle of cruelty all over again.  These chimps have suffered enough.  Tell NIH that we demand these chimps be given a peaceful retirement.