ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (KRQE) – For more than a decade, animal rights advocates have tried to give some of the oldest and sickest chimpanzees in the state a better home but with little success. Now, following the death of several chimps over the last year, those advocates say the federal government needs to do better.
“We are fighting hard to get all these chimps to sanctuary,” said Gene Grant, Chief Program & Policy Officer for Animal Protection New Mexico (APNM).
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Since October 2023, five adult chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) on the Holloman Airforce Base have died; leaving a total of 23 chimps.
“What’s happened is, they’re languishing at APF,” Grant said.
The causes of death range from heart problems to HIV, and old age. The facility is run by a federal agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The location was formerly used for biomedical research before coming to an end several years ago. But even with the conclusion of testing, animal right’s advocates say the facility is not the home these animals deserve. KRQE News 13 reached out to NIH for an interview but did not hear back.
“Holloman Airforce Base is a very important part of New Mexico and our culture and military fighting force for the country but the chimpanzees are on an Airforce Base,” explained Grant.
A federal judge ruled that the chimps be relocated to Chimp Haven, a 200-acre sanctuary in Louisianna. However, since that 2022 ruling, the chimps have stayed in Alamogordo. Advocates argue that the living conditions at the sanctuary in Louisianna are far better and would also cost taxpayers much less.
“The law has to be followed here,” Grant said. “The CHIMP Act is very clear; these chimps must be moved to sanctuaries.”
According to data from APNM, the cost to keep chimps in Alamogordo is about $229 per day. That number drops to $76 a day when kept at the sanctuary. However, after years of lobbying and raising awareness around the issue, the federal government has done little to relocate the animals. “It was written specifically for them, meaning, to find a way to move these chimpanzees no matter what their health status was at any given time,” Grant added.
APNM said that since the start of 2024, more than 130,000 people have contacted the agency asking them to follow through with the judge’s ruling. Additionally, in a recent poll conducted by the organization, more than half of the participants say the chimps should be moved, and that the federal agency should be pressured to take action.
“Delay is not in the best interest of the chimps, and this is what happens,” Grant said. “Chimps die when the federal government drags its feet.”
