New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is a hero for chimpanzees. Two days ago he filed a complaint with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to investigate the transfer of the remaining 186 chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF). Since then he has been busy with press conferences and interviews with the media about this complaint, which is supported by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and Animal Protection of New Mexico.
The complaint asks the USDA to investigate whether transferring the chimpanzees from APF to a biomedical research laboratory in Texas violates the Animal Welfare Act, which prohibits the transportation of ill, injured or physically distressed primates. Many of the chimpanzees, such as Flo (53 years old), are elderly and suffer from chronic diseases as a result of their age and their history as biomedical research subjects.
Thanks to Freedom of Information requests from PCRM, we now know that Foxie’s mother, Winny, is among the chimpanzees living at APF who faces transfer to Texas. Winny’s birthdate is listed as 1/1/1962. She is almost 49 years old.
Foxie’s son David, Negra’s daughter, Heidi, and Jody’s daughter April also face transfer. Jody’s son Levi has already been moved.
(For the complaint that PCRM filed in September that includes information on the chimpanzees at APF, click here).
For how to help, visit RetireTheChimps.org
Diana, Thank you for the update and how we can get involved. I’m glad to hear about Foxie’s mom and son, Negra’s daughter, and Jodie’s daughter. We knew Levi had been transferred. Hopefully this can be stopped and the chimps that have been transferred will be returned. Are you able to get any pictures of the family members? Again, thank you for this update.
There have been a few photos released – I’ll post one in just a second.
Bill Richardson is a hero. I so hope this horror can be stopped. It is heartbreaking to see and hear about the relatives of our chimpanzees. I so wish we could get all the famlies together in sanctuary. Thank you for keeping us up to date, Diana.
thanks so much for the update Diana , its heartening and reassuring for us to hear over in the UK how well this campaign is going and how much its still in the public eye
Thanks for the update & thanks especially for the link to retirethechimps.org. It allowed me (and all of my friends that I shared the link with) to take immediate action by signing and sending the provided email. I’ll have the NM chimps in my thoughts & hope to hear positive news soon!!!
Thanks, Diana – I have been worrying about this a lot lately, and am very happy to hear that there is some real movement – what a victory it would be, if these chimps could find sanctuary at last! Please keep us posted as you receive updates! and thanks again for letting us know! -K