Military Apes Retirement <pre> From Primate-Talk, 3/17/95 [reproduced without permission from New York Newsday, March 15, 1995] "No Way to Treat Chimps" By Chris Kleeman These are supposed to be the golden years. After a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, these retirees ought to have an officer's pension and dental benefits. But for Walter-B, Navy Bob, and Little Guy, retirement for a chimpanzee doesn't compare to other officers. These apes have been crammed into cages that are just too small. Now the army has ordered New York University, the guardian of these middle-aged apes, to move them to more comfortable headquarters. The primates were honorably discharged when the Army stopped conducting primate experiments in 1991. Like many "victims" of the Cold War, these chimps trained their whole life never to see a single day of action. The Army awarded NYU a $450,000 "contract-for-life" to care for eight of these 30-something apes, all of whom may live to be as old as 60. Three of the retirees -- Walter-B, Navy Bob, and Little Guy -- wound up at Buckshire Corp., a Pennsylvania animal-breeding company, when NYU couldn't use them. The five others went to NYU's lab in Sterling Forest, in upstate New York. An investigator hired by a national animal rights group discovered the three chimps at the Buckshire Corp.'s facility and made a covert video tape of the animals. After viewing the animal sleuth's tape, Lt. Colonel Powell, a U.S. Army veterinarian, made a surprise visit Jan. 31 to Buckshire in Perkassie, Pa., where he said he found violations of the Animal Welfare Act. "There were many deficiencies where the cages didn't meet the minimum legal requirement," Powell said. A week later, the USDA inspected the site, finding three violations. In February, the USDA cited Buckshire for violating federal standards requiring chimps to be housed in cages larger than 25 square feet and to have adequate medical staff to care for the animals. Mary Beth Sweetland, director of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), also complained that Buckshire failed to follow federal regulations requiring daily playtime for the chimps. Buckshire could face fines up to $2,500 for each violation, USDA spokeswoman Cynthia Eck said. Buckshire spokeswoman Sharon Hursch admitted that the cages are too small, but said the firm cannot afford to renovate. "We have asked NYU to take their animals back but they have no place to put them," Hursch said. Gregory Doyle, director of the Army's Medical Research Acquisition Dept., told NYU to move the chimps out of Buckshire this week. NYU spokesperson Dan Parkes said the university is investigating the federal allegations. He did not know whether the chimps would be moved. The retired chimps had a long history in military research, at the Delta Regional Primate Studies Center in Louisiana where behavioral and chemical experiments were conducted. - end - PETA HAS REQUESTED THAT THE ARMY RELEASE THE THREE CHIMPANZEES -- WALTER-B, NAVY BOB, AND LITTLE GUY AT BUCKSHIRE TO THE CHIMPANZEE RESCUE CENTRE IN ENGLAND. THE MOVE COULD BE MADE AT NO COST TO TAXPAYERS. TO SUPPORT SENDING THE CHIMPS TO A SANCTUARY, PLEASE WRITE TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS: MR. GREGORY DOYLE, DIRECTOR U.S. ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH ACQUISITION ACTIVITY BUILDING 820, ATTN: MCMR-RMA FORT DETRICK FREDERICK, MD 21702-5014 JAY OLIVA, PRESIDENT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 70 WASHINGTON SQUARE SO., ROOM 1215 NEW YORK, NY 10012 </pre> <html>