Governor Bill Richardson Meets with NIH Officials About Alamogordo Chimpanzees

Governor Bill Richardson today met with officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD to discuss his concerns regarding their plan to transfer the chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility to a facility in Texas for medical research. He reiterated his call to have the chimps permanently retired and to turn the Alamogordo facility into a sanctuary for the primates.

"I appreciate NIH officials listening to my concerns, shared by many New Mexicans and others around the country, about the organization's planned transfer of chimpanzees from their home in Alamogordo and the continuation of invasive medical research on the primates," Richardson said in a statement released about the meeting. "While it appears they are holding steadfast to their position, I am holding steadfast to mine. I will continue pressing for a humane, long-term care solution for the care of these chimpanzees which have already had to endure years of medical testing."

Governor Richardson also stated that he believes the National Academy of Sciences should do an independent review of policies regarding the use of chimps for medical research. He also requested a tour of the Alamogordo Primate Facility operated by Charles River Laboratories and located on Holloman Air Force Base.

According to the agreement with Holloman, no research may be conducted on the primates while they are at the facility. The lab’s contract with NIH is set to expire in May 2011 at which time NIH plans to transfer the chimps to Texas.

At today's meeting, NIH officials said they plan to keep staffing levels at the Alamogordo facility at the same level through 2011 and are committed to helping find an alternative use and job opportunities for the facility.

Also see our previous post on this issue. Visit the website of to learn more about this tragedy and keep current on developments. You can sign a petition against the NIH plans here. An Albuquerque Journal calls the federal stance on the chimpanzees "cruel and indefensible."

In addition, you can sign up to support the Great Apes Protection Act, which would stop any and all research from being done on approximately 1,000 chimpanzees in the U.S. There are two identical bipartisan bills on the table -- H.R. 1326 in the House of Representatives and S. 3694 in the Senate — and they need to move quickly.