IDA Lauds Court Settlement Freeing 21 Air Force Chimpanzees

Date: October 28, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Eric Kleiman, 717/939-3231 | Suzanne Roy, 415/898-2720

Mill Valley, CA . . . In Defense of Animals (IDA) lauded a court settlement made public today between the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care and the Air Force that will result in the retirement of 21 of 111 celebrated chimpanzee space veterans who were awarded last year to a controversial primate testing laboratory called The Coulston Foundation (TCF). IDA played a key role in the successful lawsuit filed by the Center against the Air Force, providing extensive documentation on TCF’s unprecedented record of negligence and substandard animal care that formed much of the basis of the Center’s legal case.

"We’re pleased to have played a role in this important legal case that has finally brought justice to some of these long-suffering space veterans," said IDA president Elliot M. Katz, DVM. "These chimpanzees involuntarily served our nation. We will not rest until they are all honorably discharged and retired to sanctuaries where they can live their lives in peace."

The settlement reverses in part an Air Force decision in August 1998 to hand over the chimpanzees to TCF in spite of the lab’s well documented record of negligence and violations of animal welfare laws. TCF is the only lab ever to be charged three times by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. In August of this year, TCF signed an unprecedented settlement with the USDA that forces the lab to divest of 300 of its 650 chimpanzees and submit to unparalleled oversight measures by outside animal care and fiscal monitors.

"This court settlement shows beyond any doubt the Air Force’s reckless irresponsibility and callous disregard for the welfare of the chimpanzees," said Katz, noting that Congress had mandated that the Air Force ensure adequate lifetime care for the chimps. "The Air Force violated the will of Congress and the trust of the American public by handing over the chimpanzees to TCF. Finally, some measure of justice has been achieved."

IDA’s role in the lawsuit involved filing two, sworn-affidavits and providing research that formed much of the substance of the Center’s case against the Air Force. The affidavits detailed TCF’s horrendous animal care record and demonstrated beyond any doubt that the lab could not provide adequate care to the chimpanzees.

IDA also supplied the USDA with much of the evidence upon which the agency based its multiple sets of formal charges against TCF. These charges resulted in the unprecedented settlement decree, signed in August 1999, requiring the lab to divest of hundreds of chimpanzees.

"The settlement decree between TCF and the USDA obliterated the Air Force’s casethat it had acted properly in giving the chimpanzees to TCF," said Katz. "Clearly TCF does not have the resources to care for all of its chimpanzees."

"The USDA’s action against TCF greatly strengthened the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care’s lawsuit against the Air Force and was a key to the Air Force’s decision to capitulate to the settlement freeing 21 chimpanzees," Katz concluded.

The Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care, headed by Drs. Jane Goodall, Roger Fouts, and Carole Noon, will gain custody of the chimpanzees and permanently retire them to a sanctuary in Florida.

IDA, based in Mill Valley, CA, has been investigating The Coulston Foundation for five years. IDA's research watchdog/whistleblower protection program has exposed abuse and negligence in labs across the U.S. In numerous cases, IDA's actions have prompted the federal government to take law enforcement action against facilities that have violated federal animal welfare and human safety laws.

In Defense of Animals is a national, non-profit organization based in Mill Valley, CA dedicated to protecting the rights, welfare and habitats of animals.

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