In Defense of Animals fought a nine-year battle to close the infamous Coulston Foundation. The laboratory subjected hundreds of chimpanzees to invasive experiments, including tests involving HIV, Hepititis C, and toxic chemicals.  As a result of IDA's campaign, 266 chimpanzees and 61 monkeys were freed to sanctuaries, and unprecedented charges were filed by the USDA against the lab.  Unfortunately, nearly 200 Coulston chimpanzees did not make it to the sanctuaries; instead, they remained in New Mexico under the control of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) on Holloman Air Force Base. The Air Force said these chimpanzees would undergo no additional experimentation, and since June 2001, they have not.

Now, the NIH wants to return them all to experimentation – to send them back to a living hell. 

Doctors and scientists with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) have filed a federal complaint with Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to prevent the planned transfer of these chimp surviors.  The doctors' legal petition invokes the Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act, enacted to ensure the retirement and sanctuary placement of chimpanzees who have endured numerous years of experimentation.  Many Alamogordo chimpanzees are elderly, and have been used repeatedly for invasive procedures.  Many suffer from heart disease, making them especially unsuitable for medical experiments.  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and primatologist Jane Goodall have also spoken out against the proposed transfer. 

We need to tell our leaders that we will not stand by while these chimps are returned to a life of torture.

 I hope you will sign this petition, and pass it along to your friends.