New Iberia, Louisiana (affiliated with University of Louisiana at Lafayette, formerly the Delta Regional Primate Research Center)

Approximate Number of Chimpanzees: 360

History & Profile

New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) is the largest holding of captive primates in the world, and is owned and operated by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette). NIRC is composed of four major divisions: Division of Research Resources, Division of Veterinary Sciences, Division of Animal Resources, and Division of Behavioral Sciences.

NIRC “operates a 100-acre site with 15 buildings totaling 200,000 square feet of indoor space,” including a 12,000-square-foot laboratory. (1)  “The Division of Animal Resources maintains husbandry and housing responsibilities for 6,000 nonhuman primates representing 11 species.” (2)  NIRC breeds the following species of nonhuman primates: chimpanzee, vervet monkey, cynomolgus macaque, pigtailed macaque, and rhesus macaque. (3)  (Read more about the breeding of chimpanzees for research.)

NIRC claims that it has given much attention to the development of “suitable” living quarters for nonhuman primates at the facility. (4)  NIRC was formerly known as Gulf South Research Institute (GSRI), which began the Life Science Division at the site and focused primarily on rodent animal models. Some primates were housed there as well. (5)
“In 1984, GSRI discontinued its biological research activities and UL Lafayette (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana) redefined the nature of the facility and created the New Iberia Research Center, operating a Primate Research Center as a contract support facility.” (6)  The facility was formerly named the Delta Regional Primate Research Center.

In the 1980s, the primary focus of NIRC was to provide private industry and the federal government with a reliable source of “native born, quality bred nonhuman primates.” (7) In 1990, NIRC “expanded its mission by providing pre-clinical safety, pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and efficacy evaluations of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.” (8)

Historically, some maternal separation/deprivation experiments were conducted on chimpanzees by G. Berkson and W.A. Mason at this facility. (9)

Chimpanzee Use

Nonhuman primates at NIRC are used to test pharmaceuticals. NIRC maintains and provides “a ready source of chimpanzees of mixed ages and sex for use in biomedical and behavioral sciences…” (10)

Research Profile*

Principal Research Programs:

• Breeding and supply of various species
• Physiological and pharmacological evaluation
• Chronic and degenerative disease studies
• Vaccine development efficacy and safety testing
• Comparative cognitive development

Financials/Grants

NIRC receives grants from NIH for chimpanzee research, including $680,000 per year from September 1, 2001 to August 31, 2011, for a contract entitled “Leasing of Chimpanzees for the Conduct of Research” (NIH/NIAID DIR-01-59). (11)

Address

Sources

(1) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/facility.html

(2) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/divisions/availabilityspecies.html

(3) http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/ncrrprog/cmpdir/PRIMATES.asp#unila

(4) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/history.html

(5) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/facility.html

(6) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/history.html

(7) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/history.html

(8) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/about/history.html

(9) Stephens, M.L. 1986: “Maternal Deprivation Experiments in Psychology: A Critique of the Animal Models,” A Report prepared for the New England Anti-Vivisection Society, pp. 27-28.

(10) http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/ncrrprog/cmpdir/PRIMATES.asp#unila

(11) http://nirc.louisiana.edu/divisions/nihgrants.html

Last updated: February 14, 2007

^ back to top