Notes concerning
the filing of charges at Charles River Labs:
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For the first time in
U.S. history, criminal charges for animal cruelty have
been filed against an animal research laboratory for
its operator's alleged institutional neglect and
abandonment of chimpanzees.
The unprecedented
complaint, filed by Otero County, New Mexico District
Attorney Scot Key on September 7, alleges that
negligence surrounding the deaths of the chimpanzees
Rex and Ashley, and the near-death of Topsy, at the
Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) constitutes criminal
animal cruelty. The APF, located on Holloman Air Force
Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, is owned by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is legally
responsible for the day-to-day management of the lab.
The District
Attorney’s investigation was prompted by IDA, which
provided evidence from its network of whistleblowers.
Named in the criminal complaint were NIH contractor
Charles River Laboratories, Inc. and APF director and
veterinarian Dr. Rick Lee.
If convicted, the
defendants could face a maximum of almost three years
in jail.
"These historic
charges are a searing indictment of the NIH, which
bears the ultimate responsibility
for the conscious criminal negligence apparently
committed against these defenseless chimpanzees," said
IDA president Elliot M. Katz, DVM.
The NIH handpicked Charles River to operate the APF
after IDA exposed negligence committed by the previous
APF manager, The Coulston Foundation. We must redouble
our efforts to end the injustice of biomedical
experiments on chimpanzees.
IDA will not rest until experimentation on chimpanzees
is permanently ended and the NIH is held accountable
for its gross malfeasance and duplicity in its
management of chimpanzee and other animal research
programs.are
ended.