{"id":771051,"date":"2022-12-19T08:11:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T13:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=771051"},"modified":"2022-12-19T08:39:52","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T13:39:52","slug":"federal-judge-rules-nih-broke-law-by-denying-sanctuary-retirement-to-former-research-chimps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=771051","title":{"rendered":"‘It is a Win’: Federal judge rules NIH broke law denying sanctuary retirement to former research chimps"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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The ruling reflects a commitment to providing these chimps, who suffered years of invasive biomedical experiments, the sanctuary retirement they deserve.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

HSUS:<\/strong> A Maryland federal judge ruled that the National Institutes of Health [NIH] cannot lawfully refuse to retire federally owned chimpanzees formerly used for research to Chimp Haven, the federal chimpanzee sanctuary. The decision was issued in a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Protection New Mexico, Humane Society Legislative Fund, and three individual plaintiffs.<\/em><\/p>\n

The plaintiffs sued NIH in 2021, after the agency reneged on its commitment to sanctuary retirement for all chimps owned or supported by the federal government. Instead, NIH decided to retain dozens of chimps at the Alamogordo Primate Facility \u2014 the same New Mexico laboratory where they were previously used in experiments \u2014 for the remainder of their lives…<\/em><\/p>\n

The ruling held that NIH\u2019s decision was unlawful under the Chimpanzee Health, Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act, a 2000 law that created and funded the federal chimpanzee sanctuary system. Thirty chimps currently remain at the Alamogordo facility…<\/em><\/p>\n

The order noted that NIH had violated the law because \u201cthe plain and unambiguous language of the CHIMP Act mandates the transfer of all [Alamogordo] chimpanzees to Chimp Haven.\u201d Further proceedings will follow to determine how NIH must proceed in light of the court\u2019s ruling…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe CHIMP Act means exactly what it says: These chimps cannot be denied the sanctuary retirement they deserve,\u201d said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. \u201cIt is a win that the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland agreed with us that the law reflects a commitment to providing these chimps\u2014who suffered years of invasive biomedical experiments\u2014the highest standard of care possible”…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThirty chimp survivors are waiting in Alamogordo, New Mexico for the sanctuary they\u2019ve been promised by our federal government. This decision affirms what we\u2019ve asserted all along: by law, these chimpanzees have the right to live their best chimp lives in sanctuary,\u201d said Leslie Rudloff, Esq., chief program and policy officer, Animal Protection New Mexico. <\/em>SOURCE…<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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