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A major victory for the Alamogordo chimps!

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, a federal court ruled that the National Institutes of Health cannot lawfully refuse to retire federally owned chimpanzees formerly used for research to Chimp Haven, the federal chimpanzee sanctuary. This monumental decision was issued in a lawsuit brought by APNM, the Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, and three individual plaintiffs.

The judge's ruling held that NIH’s 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 chimp survivors are waiting in Alamogordo, New Mexico for the sanctuary they’ve been promised by our federal government. This decision affirms what we’ve asserted all along: by law, these chimpanzees have the right to live their best chimp lives in sanctuary,” said Leslie Rudloff, Esq., Chief Program & Policy Officer, APNM.

What's next? Further proceedings will follow to determine how NIH must proceed in light of the court’s ruling. We will keep you updated. 

Thank you for all your actions and compassion for the surviving chimps on Holloman Air Force base in Alamogordo. We will not stop fighting until they reach sanctuary.