The first social group of nine retired research chimpanzees from the New Iberia Research Center arrived at the new Project Chimps sanctuary in northern Georgia on Sept. 8.
Project Chimps, a nonprofit organization, secured an agreement with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s NIRC to resettle and provide lifetime care for the center’s entire research chimpanzee population. This was the first of many transfers that will be made to relocate all 220 chimpanzees from New Iberia, La.
NIRC chimpanzees will be moved in small social groups, according to Sarah Baeckler Davis, president and CEO of Project Chimps. Each group will be composed of up to 10 chimpanzees.
Dr. Francois J. Villinger, NIRC director, said, “We are pleased the first group of chimpanzees made it safely to Georgia and expect other transfers to go as smoothly. We feel confident that Project Chimps will provide them with the high-quality care that they have been accustomed to receiving.”
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is contributing funding for the chimpanzees’ care at the sanctuary.
Baeckler Davis said Project Chimps is “grateful for the assistance of NIRC in working toward this day. We will be actively fundraising to secure support from the public to ensure the expeditious resettlement of the chimpanzees.”
Project Chimps has said the New Iberia Research Center was among the first non-federal research programs to arrange to release all of its research chimps.
University officials say they've been planning retirement and sanctuary for its chimpanzees for more than two years, and "the vast majority" were never part of any research.
For more information about the sanctuary, visit www.ProjectChimps.org.