It is incredible that after living a captive existence as research laboratory testing subjects and finally being rescued, that the fate of these chimps was once again looking pretty dicey. Fortunately, this story has a good ending…
Click here to watch video of these chimps!
These Lab Chimpanzees Are Getting a 2nd Lease on Life
The future was looking uncertain for a group of more than 60 chimpanzees that formerly served as laboratory research subjects for the New York Blood Center (NYBC) in Liberia — until the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) recently stepped in to take over their care.
The chimps, which were raised in captivity and could not be released into habitats with wild chimpanzees, had been placed in a Liberian island sanctuary more than 10 years ago, after the NYBC ended the local research program that used the chimps to test a hepatitis B vaccine, in 2004. But the NYBC struggled to determine who would ultimately be responsible for the primates in the long term. And years later, time and money were running short.
Fortunately for the chimps, the HSUS and the NYBC reached an agreement to provide for the animals’ ongoing health and medical needs, with the HSUS assuming responsibility for the chimpanzees for the duration of the animals’ lives, and the NYBC contributing $6 million to the sanctuary’s upkeep…
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