Opinion or fact? Chimp Haven should provide the public with evidence and data to inform critical decisions about retired chimpanzee health and well-being

Yesterday we wrote about NIH’s announcement that 44 elderly and/or frail chimpanzees would be retired in place at the Alamogordo Primate Facility instead of being transferred to the federal sanctuary, Chimp Haven (CH). The announcement drew a range of responses and media coverage. Responses that were critical of NIH’s decision came from leadership associated with … Continue reading Opinion or fact? Chimp Haven should provide the public with evidence and data to inform critical decisions about retired chimpanzee health and well-being

Public dialogue about US research chimpanzee retirement: Unanswered questions

Growing concerns about NIH’s plan for retired research chimpanzees summarized in a WIRED article last week continue to provoke more questions than answers. These questions fall into three general areas discussed below. In many cases, they are questions that could stem simply from a lack of transparent, public information. One example of this is found … Continue reading Public dialogue about US research chimpanzee retirement: Unanswered questions

What is science?

We learned today from an NIH announcement about a new plan by the federal agency to relocate and transfer all of the NIH-owned chimpanzees to the federally-funded sanctuary, Chimp Haven, by 2021 or later. The announcement was quickly the subject of announcements and proclamations of victory by PETA, HSUS, and some associated with Chimp Haven. … Continue reading What is science?

Do Politics Trump Chimpanzee Well-being? Questions Raised About Deaths of US Research Chimpanzees at Federally-Funded Sanctuary

A number of countries have ended some types of research with chimpanzees over the past decades.  For example, the US National Institutes of Health announced in November 2015 that it would no longer support many types of chimpanzee research. In Europe, the fate of former research chimpanzees has depended upon a mix of private wildlife … Continue reading Do Politics Trump Chimpanzee Well-being? Questions Raised About Deaths of US Research Chimpanzees at Federally-Funded Sanctuary

Chimpanzee Retirement: Facts, Myths, and Motivation

How often have you heard the claim that chimpanzees who have moved to a sanctuary have felt "dirt and grass under their feet, sunshine on their faces" for the first time in their entire lives because they have come from laboratories where they have only known barren, concrete environments? You may hear it pretty often … Continue reading Chimpanzee Retirement: Facts, Myths, and Motivation

70 year old professor retires and closes lab, PETA claims victory

The retirement of a highly respected senior neuroscientist at the center of a sustained recent publicity campaign by an animal rights group generated a victory claim on Friday when PETA realized that their target had retired. The retirement came after a productive and award-winning 40 year research and teaching career. University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscience Professor … Continue reading 70 year old professor retires and closes lab, PETA claims victory