Ohio State University Sends Chimpanzees to Pseudo-Sanctuary

On February 21, Ohio State University (OSU) announced plans to close the university’s Chimpanzee Center and “retire” the nine chimpanzees who had been used there in cognitive research. While it was certainly good news that the university’s chimpanzees would no longer be forced to endure more time as research subjects—some of them had been at OSU for more than 20 years—the university’s announcement that the chimpanzees would be sent to Primarily Primates, Inc. (PPI), a troubled facility in San Antonio, Texas, was astonishing.

Former PPI employees report that conditions at this place fall far short of basic humane and ethical animal care as well as minimum sanctuary standards. Among many allegations are that PPI routinely fails to provide adequate veterinary care to sick animals; breeds and buys animals; keeps animals in extremely barren and uncomfortable conditions; and fails to ensure that primates have adequate environmental enrichment to promote their emotional well-being. The facility is not licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or any state regulatory agency and is not accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries. Click here to watch video footage taken at Primarily Primates.

Spirited Away in the Night
Despite objections, late at night on February 27, a truck containing the nine chimpanzees left OSU under police escort and headed for Texas. No one from OSU accompanied the chimpanzees to ensure their health and welfare on the long trip. Thirty-eight hours later, the truck arrived at PPI, but seven of the nine chimpanzees were left on the truck for an additional 24 hours before being unloaded. Shortly thereafter, one chimpanzee was dead.

PPI was ill prepared to receive the chimpanzees as evidenced by the fact that the chimps’ transport cages did not fit into the enclosures intended for them, thus requiring that the animals, after their long trip in cramped conditions, be subjected to the risk of sedation in order to remove them from the transport crates and transfer them into PPI’s enclosures. Proper transfer of the chimpanzees would have entailed placing the transport cages in the new enclosures and simply opening the cages to allow the chimpanzees to exit or opening the cages into a shift cage, eliminating the need for anesthesia. While he was sedated, a male chimpanzee named Kermit collapsed into a sitting position that blocked his airway, and without proper assistance he suffocated.

Illegal Contract
In its irresponsible rush to discard the chimpanzees who brought such acclaim to the university, it appears that OSU did not even bother to determine whether PPI was authorized to have custody of the animals. In fact, PPI is located in a jurisdiction that has banned the keeping of dangerous wild animals altogether. Texas state law gives each county the option of prohibiting the keeping of dangerous wild animals, and in 2001 Bexar County adopted such a ban. Texas law classifies chimpanzees as “dangerous wild animals,” and we believe that because of this, OSU’s contract with PPI is null and void and that the university is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

What You Can Do
The chimpanzees at OSU served the university involuntarily for many years, and if nothing else, the survivors deserve to live out the rest of their lives at a bona fide sanctuary that will provide them with the highest level of care, comfort, and enrichment. Please enlist everyone you know to urge OSU to immediately reclaim the eight surviving chimpanzees—Darrell, Sheba, Sarah, Bobby, Keeli, Ivy, Harper, and Emma—and the three capuchin monkeys who were also evicted from the university and sent to PPI’s substandard facility. OSU must arrange for the animals’ lifetime care at a reputable facility:

Karen A. Holbrook, President
Ohio State University
205 Bricker Hall
190 N. Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1357
614-292-2424
614-292-1231 (fax)
holbrook.79@osu.edu