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Ohio State to Retire Nine Chimpanzees Used for Research

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 12:01 CST

By Mike Lafferty, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Feb. 22--Ohio State will close its chimpanzee research facility within two months and retire its nine residents to a refuge in Texas, the university announced yesterday.

But the psychologist who has spent her career using the chimpanzees for learning research criticized the decision as well as plans to send the animals to the refuge.

"They're not rats. They're the most significant group of chimpanzees in the world," said psychologist Sally Boysen.

The university made the decision to close the facility off Godown Road after research funding dried up and it appeared no more money was coming.

"Chimpanzee facilities all over the country are phasing that work down. It is very, very hard to get research support for those programs. The Air Force, NASA, the (National Institutes of Health) are all looking for homes for their animals," said OSU spokesman Earle Holland.

Boysen said she learned of the university's decision yesterday.

"I was blindsided," she said.

Boysen studied how chimps learn, making comparisons to how children learn.

A female chimp bit a student worker on the arm on Jan. 15, but the university said that had nothing to do with the closure.

The nine Ohio State chimps will go to Primarily Primates Inc., near San Antonio, Texas, as soon as the refuge is ready to take them.

The 75-acre facility takes in animals, mostly primates, that were formerly used in labs.

The OSU chimps could go as early as next week or in up to two months, according to William Yonushonis, who oversees animal research at Ohio State.

The chimpanzees will not be subjected to experiments at the refuge in the Texas hill country north of San Antonio.

But Boysen said Primarily Primates is not acceptable for the OSU chimps. She said the facility will not be able to properly care for the animals.

"Primarily Primates may as well be classified as a roadside zoo," said Mary Beth Sweetland, director for research and investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA said that when officials with the animal-rights group visited the Texas refuge, they found it didn't have enough shade for chimps in cages. PETA also said the animals were not fed fresh fruits or vegetables, and that the chimps had no toys or other items for stimulation.

Primarily Primates officials could not be reached for comment.

Yonushonis, however, defended the facility, saying he twice visited there. He said it also was examined by a veterinarian experienced with laboratory animals.

"At one point, we considered dividing the colony and shipping the older animals to the refuge, but experts have advised seriously against dividing such a long-standing colony," said Robert McGrath, senior vice president for research at OSU. "We believe it is best for the animals' welfare to keep them together as a single social group."

Ohio State will pay $324,000 to construct two 25-foot-by-40-foot indoor-outdoor structures that will be 17 feet high to house the nine chimpanzees at Primarily Primates.

The university also will provide an endowment of $72,000 to care for the animals for the duration of their lives there.

The nine OSU chimps range in age from 5 to 47; the average chimpanzee lives about 60 years. Yonushonis said they will have five times more space at the refuge than they had at Ohio State.

mlafferty@dispatch.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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