The last 50 chimpanzees owned by the National Institutes of Health are headed to Chimp Haven—a federally funded sanctuary in Keithville, Louisiana.
The retirement plan, announced on Wednesday, comes two years after the agency decided to phase out chimp research following a report that found such research unnecessary. At the time, the agency said it would set stricter requirements for primate research and retire most of its 360 chimps, hanging on to only 50. Those remaining chimps were set aside in case researchers needed them in special circumstances, such as emergency studies during a public health crisis.
