Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), a new chimpanzee sanctuary located outside Seattle, will welcome its first seven residents this coming spring when Annie, Burreto, Foxy, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra are released from the Buckshire Corporation laboratory in Pennsylvania.  They are the last chimpanzees held by Buckshire, a private lab with a long history of using chimpanzees.

“In this time when the use of chimpanzees in research is declining and the permanent end to their use is on the horizon, it is important that new sanctuaries are built to provide rescue – facilities that will meet the exceptional standards set by many of the already existing private sanctuaries that provide care for former research victims,” said NEAVS President Theodora Capaldo, EdD.  “Having met CSNW Executive Director Keith LaChappelle, we look forward to his being part of an expanding network of sanctuaries of excellence that will provide a hopeful future for all chimpanzees still languishing in U.S. labs.”

The chimpanzees, ranging in age from 24 to 34, have been used in hepatitis B vaccine trials and for breeding.  “After enduring decades in biomedical research, these seven individuals will finally have a spacious, enriching, and permanent home where their needs and wants come first,” said Mr. LaChappelle. “They will never have the freedom their free-living cousins enjoy, but by respecting them and giving them choice, we hope to give them a life with dignity.”

LaChappelle has said that Buckshire will no longer use chimpanzees for research.  In the past, Buckshire released chimpanzees to Primarily Primates, Inc., in Texas.  In addition, three Fauna Foundation chimpanzees – Pepper, Jeannie, and Pablo, who were released to Fauna from LEMSIP, had also spent time at Buckshire.

At Buckshire, the seven chimpanzees are housed in “four small interconnected enclosures with no windows and no access to an outdoor area,” according to CSNW.  At the new sanctuary, CSNW offers the chimpanzees a 18,000-cubic-foot, single story indoor facility with four interconnecting bedrooms, climbing structures, a loft, and windows with resting platforms.  CSNW plans to add an outdoor area and to expand for more chimpanzees in need.

Watch for our interview with CSNW Executive Director Keith LaChapelle.  Project R&R will keep you updated with news on the release and rescue of Annie, Burreto, Foxy, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra.

Related Article:  http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/147-09102007-1405089.html