ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund at the New Mexico Foundation has announced a grant totaling $150,000 that will go towards Chimp Haven Inc., a national non-profit sanctuary for chimps who are retired from medical research.
The award will support the 76 New Mexico chimps that are now retired and residing at Chimp Haven. Laura Bonar, chief program and policy officer at Animal Protection of New Mexico discusses the award.
Chimp Haven is a private, nonprofit refuge on 200 acres of forested land in Keithville, Louisiana that is home to over 300 chimps that are retired from biomedical research. Federal funds help to provide a portion of the lifetime care for the government-owned chimps however, the organization relies on the generosity of donors to cover the construction necessary to welcome more retirees into the care of the sanctuary.
While 76 New Mexico chimpanzees live at Chimp Haven, the state currently has an additional 37 chimps located at Holloman Airforce Base in Alamogordo. Although the chimps are no longer needed for invasive research, the National Institute of Health has kept them at a laboratory facility on the base instead of relocating them to Chimp Haven.
For more information visit chimpstosanctuary.org.
Related Coverage:
- Alamogordo chimps still living at biomedical research facility
- Two additional chimps die at Alamogordo testing site
