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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS LEADING TO MULTIPLE COUNTS OF CRIMINAL ANIMAL
CRUELTY FILED AGAINST THE NIH'S "ALAMOGORDO PRIMATE FACILITY"
OPERATOR
Prepared by In Defense of Animals /
September 7th, 2004
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July 16, 2003 - During its second "courtesy inspection,"
(Inspection - July 03) the USDA again finds no violations and gives the APF a clean bill of health. This inspection
occurs approximately three weeks after Topsy almost bled to death.
August 7, 2003 - IDA provides Otero County, New Mexico District Attorney Scot Key with detailed information regarding the deaths of Ashley and Rex, and the near-death of Topsy, and urges the D.A. to investigate for alleged violations of New Mexico's cruelty to animals criminal statute. The information includes an affidavit from C. James Mahoney, DVM, PhD
(Mahoney Affidavit), who has over thirty years of veterinary experience with primates, and was the head veterinarian at a large chimpanzee research facility for over twenty years. Dr. Mahoney describes the management of the APF - for which the NIH is ultimately responsible, as outlined in its contract records - as "fundamentally twisted and despicable." IDA informs D.A. Key that the USDA has no jurisdiction at the APF because it is considered a "federal research facility," and that he is the only legitimate law enforcement officer capable of protecting the chimpanzees. According to Section 2143(b) of the Animal Welfare Act, responsibility for compliance with the Act at "federal research facilities" such as the APF (which is defined as such a facility despite the fact that the Air Force has decreed that no research shall be conducted there) is the responsibility of the funding agency - in this case, the NIH. Consequently, the NIH - which has based its enforcement relationship on "trust" with The Coulston Foundation and other regulated entities - would have "oversight" over its own government-owned, contractor-operated facility - a facility for which it has admitted ultimate responsibility for day-to-day management. Without the intensive and ultimately successful effort by Animal Protection of New Mexico to amend New Mexico's cruelty to animals criminal statute in 2001, the D.A. would have no jurisdiction over the APF, and the chimpanzees there would have absolutely no protection from the self-serving "oversight" based on "trust" practiced by the
NIH.
August 8, 2003 - In a glowing article (Air
Force Article) written by the Air Force, Andrea Lee - described as the APF's "program administrator," and the wife of Director Dr. Rick Lee - states that "Our mission is to give [the chimpanzees] the best quality of life that we can. We give them the best medical care possible and try to keep them happy. We figure they've paid their dues." The article describes Dr. Rick Lee as "one of the top primatologists in the nation," and is published approximately six weeks after Topsy almost bled to death. Although the Air Force article states that the APF welcomes visitors, a year later Dr. Lee will try to deny access to investigators from the D.A.'s office armed with a search warrant which states that "probable cause" has been established to suspect CRL of "institutional neglect," and which details cruelty to the chimpanzees Rex, Ashley and Topsy.
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