3 Seperate Incidents Of Chimpanzees Escaping From Research Facility

First lets talk about what this organization does. They do research on Primates, for, but not limited to; drug addiction, obesity, malaria, and AIDS. Drug Addition, why in the world do we need this kind of research? Just take a drug addicted person and do research on them, after all they are the ones that put themselves in that position to begin with. Obesity, well I'm well aware that sometimes this condition is medical, though with all of technology today why is there a need to do this to Primates? Malaria, now this is a joke in itself, when was the last case of Malaria in the US? Are we expecting an outbreak? and this is crucial to society? AIDS, well, even though I'm aware that some people did not contract this disease because of their own decisions, however, some people have by their own actions of sexual preferences or no safety against this disease. Why should innocent Primates be tested for things that don't even exist in their natural world?

Perhaps if humans were more careful, more aware and took the necessary precautions, we wouldn't have these issues.

Secondly, the three incidents of Chimpanzee escapes from this facility is a fine example of how the USDA does not act accordingly to what they stand for. After the first escape, there should have been an investigation as to HOW they escaped and the correct measures should have been taken then. A second and third escape should never have happened IF the USDA did their job properly. As in another article, I stated that for the USDA to regulate, fine and charge another government facility is not normally in their protocol!

Thirdly, These unfortunate Primates have been injected with diseases, so an escape into the public could have been devastating!

Story-

Over the past five months, three incidents of chimpanzee escapes have occurred from the outdoor enclosure at the Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research located in Bastrop, TX. The facility is part of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The latest incident occurred on April 2, 2008; the chimpanzee was quickly recaptured and safely returned to the facility.

For all three incidents, no animals came in contact with the public.

Escapes from any federally supported animal housing facility are of great concern and are reviewed individually and immediately. NCRR is taking the following steps to address the situation:

• NCRR has reviewed the operating procedures of the Keeling Center. Changes have been made to address those incidents; and,
• to assess procedures in more detail, NCRR/NIH representatives will make a site visit to the Keeling Center on April 8, 2008, to determine whether additional corrective actions to management practices are necessary to ensure the safety of the community, facility personnel, and animals.

The actions taken and protocols implemented will be shared with all federal facilities that house chimpanzees. NCRR will continue to work with representatives of the Keeling Center to develop any additional steps necessary to ensure safe and appropriate operation of the facility.
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This is what they do, check them out-

Nonhuman primates such as rhesus monkeys are critical for biomedical research because of their close physiological similarities to humans. They enable discoveries that apply directly to studies on human health and help scientists test treatments for health conditions such as drug addiction, obesity, malaria, and AIDS.

NCRR's nonhuman primate program funds animals, facilities, technologies, and materials that support this research. NCRR also is responsible for the National Institutes of Health Chimpanzee Management Program.

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NCRR's Division of Comparative Medicine helps meet the needs of biomedical researchers for high-quality, disease-free animals and specialized animal research facilities. The Division supports both individuals and research organizations.
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