NIH News Release
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
 National Center for Research Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Contacts:
Kathy Kaplan,
NCRR Information Officer
(301) 435-0885

Federal Government Responsible for Research Chimpanzees

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it has officially taken title to approximately half of the chimpanzees owned by the Coulston Foundation of Alamogordo, New Mexico. These chimpanzees have been used by U.S. biomedical investigators in studies of infectious diseases, primarily hepatitis and AIDS. This transfer of 288 chimpanzees from the Coulston Foundation to NIH follows earlier recommendations of the National Research Council (NRC) and a consent agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Coulston to reduce the number of chimpanzees at the Foundation.

A small number of these animals is currently being studied by NIH intramural and NIH-funded extramural investigators. NIH will continue to ensure appropriate care and maintenance of chimpanzees previously and currently used in federally-funded biomedical and behavioral research.