New Mexico Governor's New Proposal to Save the Alamogordo Chimps

One of the bigger animal stories this summer has been the plight of around 200 chimpanzees at the Alamogordo Primate Research Facility in New Mexico. The chimps are "semi-retired" from their previous careers as unwilling subjects in invasive medical research (meaning that they're not currently involved in research, but can be called back to the lab at any time).  They've been living at the Alamogordo facility, owned by the National Institutes of Health and managed by a private contractor, since 2001. Earlier this year, the NIH announced that the contract was expiring and, to save money, the chimps were going to be packed up and sent to Texas ... and back to a brutal life as test subjects.

Enter New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has come out on the side of keeping the chimps safe and in New Mexico. After touring the Alamogordo facility, Richardson told the Associated Press that he would like to see Alamogordo turned into a sanctuary.

As a compromise measure, Richardson also suggested a partnership with the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University to use the facility for behavioral research. It's far from a perfect solution, but give Richardson some credit. He admits the NIH seem pretty dedicated to their original plan, and while these chimps have done their time in the lab, if behavioral research is the price for keeping them out of far more invasive medical research, Richardson's idea merits consideration.

Richardson's idea is a pragmatic  and workable approach — keeping Alamogordo as a sanctuary, under a veneer of science. The type of behavioral research we're talking about here is observational, not invasive. The benefits would help us understand primates better, as opposed to providing scientifically-sketchy results about how injecting chimpanzees with various toxic substances affects humans. And there's no question that there's scientific merit in better understanding primates. Certainly the obstinate people at the NIH could benefit from a little more understanding. (Not to mention a lot more compassion.)

Richardson isn't the first big name to side with the Alamogordo chimps. Actor Gene Hackman, who lives in New Mexico, wrote a letter last month to the NIH in support of keeping Alamogordo open and its residents out of brutal lab testing conditions.

The big question is, what is NIH going to do? They've seen public pressure brought by Animal Protection of New Mexico and other groups. They've seen grassroots support for keeping their chimps safe (here's where you can add your name). They've seen a lot of the fake science behind animal testing thoroughly debunked, thanks to the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. They've seen celebrities like Hackman and True Blood's Kristin Bauer lobby them for saving the chimps. Now, the governor of New Mexico is giving them an out — a way to do something resembling the right thing while still saving face.

It's up to them whether they take it.

Photo credit: Mike Disharoon