Animal trainer Sid Yost of California has multiple outstanding judgments against him in Florida, including one for $20,000 (dated November 19, 1999) after he had filed for bankruptcy protection. However, unlike most bankruptcies, Yost was not allowed protection from his debts. According to federal law, only in special circumstances in which the debtor has acted in bad faith will bankruptcy courts deny such protection.

The sale of the baby chimpanzees follows foreclosure action by the First National Bank of Alamogordo against Coulston for recovery of $1.16 million in outstanding loans. The foreclosure suit, filed in December 2001, had been expected after the lab lost its eligibility to receive federal research funds due to continuing violations of federal law. Previously, those funds had accounted for two-thirds of Coulston's annual income.

"The financial bankruptcies of Yost and Coulston overlay a far deeper moral bankruptcy," said IDA Research Director Eric Kleiman. "Chimpanzees are our closest genetic relatives and must not be used as furry test tubes or as objects to entertain us."

"All of the chimpanzees at Coulston deserve permanent retirement in sanctuaries where they have a chance to live the rest of their lives in peace," Kleiman continued. "This is especially so for the babies, who otherwise face 50 years or more of life in confinement under conditions that do not come close to meeting their individual and complex social,
emotional and psychological needs."

According to Kleiman, chimpanzees used in "entertainment" suffer. Training can often include beatings, while fear of punishment can account for the unnatural acts they are forced to perform. Many chimpanzees used by the entertainment industry have teeth removed to protect trainers and others from bites, and the "grin" frequently seen on performing chimpanzees is actually an expression of deep fear.

"The chimpanzees at Coulston have suffered enough," concluded APNM Development Director Harriette Roller. "They must be permanently retired."

Read more about IDA's campaign against the Coulston Foundation