Status of Alamogordo chimps remains tenuous

Mar. 29—The fate of 28 surviving chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Facility remains in legal limbo more than a year after a federal judge ruled that the National Institutes of Health has no authority to keep the chimps in New Mexico.

The NIH, the agency responsible for the Alamogordo chimps, has long argued that moving the remaining animals to a chimp sanctuary in Louisiana would be dangerous because of their frail health.

That position puts them at odds with Animal Protection of New Mexico and other groups that filed a 2021 federal lawsuit demanding NIH move all the Alamogordo chimps to Chimp Haven, the federal sanctuary.

"The simple fact is you want these chimps with the best veterinary care possible, and that's at Chimp Haven," said Gene Grant, program and policy officer at Animal Protection New Mexico.

NIH media officials did not return multiple phone and email messages this week seeking comment.

Limited capacity at Chimp Haven also poses an obstacle for transferring chimps from Alamogordo.

The government-owned primate facility at Holloman Air Force Base housed at least 169 chimpanzees in 2013 when the NIH announced plans to end most medical research uses for the chimps.

As of Oct. 1, the Alamogordo facility housed 28 chimpanzees at a cost of $129 a day per animal, according to a recent NIH report. The agency also reported that it had no plans to relocate any of the Alamogordo chimps.

Chimp Haven, in Keithville, Louisiana, housed 290 chimps that month at a cost of $52 a day per animal, the report said. NIH had a total of 371 chimpanzees at four U.S. facilities, including Chimp Haven, it said.

"These facilities provide care that exceeds that required by law," the report states. "NIH is committed to continuing to provide high-quality care and ensuring the safety and welfare of the chimpanzees."

In court records, the NIH has argued that the remaining Alamogordo chimps are the "frailest" and that moving them to Louisiana would endanger the animals. Those health issues include diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis and renal conditions, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Lydia Griggsby of Maryland ruled in 2022 that the NIH's argument is contrary to the CHIMP Act, approved by Congress in 2000, that required the NIH to move all surviving chimps to the retirement sanctuary. The act also provided funds to build Chimp Haven.

"Specifically, the court determined that the plain and unambiguous language of the CHIMP Act requires that all APF chimpanzees be transferred to the federal sanctuary system," Griggsby wrote in a December 2023 opinion.

The judge issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed against the NIH by Animal Protection New Mexico, the Humane Society of the United States and others.

Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an NIH appeal of the Maryland ruling.

"All the legal reasons are now settled," said Grant. "Humanitarian reasons are now settled."

But other problems remain, including space issues at Chimp Haven, which has limited capacity to accept more chimpanzees.

Humane Society lawyers asked Griggsby last year to order the NIH to transfer chimps from Alamogordo to the Chimp Sanctuary "as space becomes available."

Griggsby rejected that request in her December opinion.

"Notably, the parties agree that there is no definitive timeline for when space at Chimp Haven will actually be available to accommodate the (Alamogordo) chimpanzees," Griggsby wrote. Sufficient space may not be available for years, she wrote.

Griggsby also rejected a Humane Society request to retain jurisdiction over the case to ensure NIH compliance.

Grant said NIH now needs to expand capacity at Chimp Haven to allow the transfer of all the Alamogordo chimpanzees.

"All it takes now is for NIH to do what the law says it must do, and that is facilitate the move of all these chimps to (the) sanctuary," Grant said. "If that means more investment, that means more investment."