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After Pressure Campaign from Animal Rights Groups, HSUS Commits $20 million to its Chimpanzee Sanctuary

January 18, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

After a 1.5 year, multi-prong pressure campaign demanding better animal care and living conditions conditions at Project Chimps, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has announced a $20 million commitment to its Georgia sanctuary. According to its press release, HSUS is allocating $5 million in 2022 toward the creation of habitat space for the chimpanzees and $15 million in operational support to be distributed evenly over the course of 10 years. The campaign, called #ChimpsDeserveBetter, was led by the grassroots animal advocacy groups Chimps Deserve Better, Progress for Science and TheirTurn.

Lindsay on a porch at HSUS sanctuary Project Chimps (photo: Crystal Alba)

“We are pleased that HSUS has pledged critical funding to create a new habitat for the 81 chimpanzees who reside at Project Chimps,” said Donny Moss, a NYC-based Chimps Deserve Better campaign organizer. “After living in laboratories and being subjected to cruel research experiments, these chimpanzees deserve to spend their final years in as natural a setting as captivity can provide.”

After a 1.5 year, multi-prong pressure campaign demanding better animal care and living conditions conditions at Project Chimps, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has announced a $20 million commitment to its Georgia sanctuary.

The animal rights community learned about the plight of the chimpanzees in May 2020 after Project Chimps sued two former employees who launched a website exposing poor animal care and living conditions at the sanctuary. Following online actions and protests at the homes of HSUS board members, Project Chimps dropped the lawsuit against the whistleblowers, Crystal Alba and Lindsay Vanderhoogt.

Following protests by grassroots animal rights groups, HSUS dropped its lawsuit against Project Chimps’s whistleblowers Crystal Alba and Lindsay Vanderhoogt

Starting in July 2020, the animal rights groups launched a broader campaign calling on HSUS to hire a veterinarian with chimpanzee experience and create enough habitat space at Project Chimps to enable the chimpanzees to have daily access to the outdoors.

Animal rights activists around the country called on The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 81 chimpanzees in their care have daily access to the outdoors.

“With a new veterinarian in place and funding to break ground on a new habitat, we are pausing the protests against HSUS,” said Bob Ingersoll, a San Francisco-based primatologist and organizer on the Chimps Deserve Better campaign. “We hope to replace the protests with an open dialogue about the changes being made to improve the lives of the chimpanzees.”

“The infusion of funds will help improve the facilities, if spent wisely,” said Lindsay Vanderhoogt, a whistleblower with Chimps Deserve Better. “But we’d also like to see a change in culture where management prioritizes the welfare of the chimpanzees in the decision-making process.”

“Five million dollars is a significant step towards providing the chimps with adequate housing and daily outdoor access,” said Cory Mac, a Chimps Deserve Better campaign organizer with Progress for Science, an anti-vivisection animal rights activist group in Los Angeles. “We look forward to hearing more about how HSUS and Project Chimps will be moving forward to guarantee these necessities along with instituting improved health care and practices for the chimps.“


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HSUS’s Financial and Ethical Obligations to the Chimpanzees at Project Chimps and the New Iberia Research Center

December 6, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

Since June 2020, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has come under public scrutiny over its failure to provide a humane retirement for the chimpanzees at Project Chimps, its sanctuary in Georgia that is home to 82 former lab chimpanzees. When, in 2020, whistleblowers and animal rights groups, including the Nonhuman Rights Project and PETA, began calling on HSUS to improve welfare conditions, HSUS took steps to distance itself from the sanctuary instead of fulfilling its obligations to the chimpanzees.

Project Chimps, an HSUS chimpanzee sanctuary in Georgia that has been in the spotlight since 2020 over poor animal welfare conditions

Project Chimps, a Humane Society of the United States chimpanzee sanctuary in Georgia that has been in the spotlight since 2020 over poor animal welfare conditions.

The following report details the conflicts of interest and obfuscation that have enabled HSUS to provide substandard care to the chimpanzees while giving the public the impression that Project Chimps is a true sanctuary. It also describes HSUS’s obligation to the approximately 110 chimpanzees waiting to be rescued from the New Iberia Research Center, a laboratory at the University of Louisiana.

Whistleblowers and animal rights groups erected a billboard near Project Chimps to raise awareness of the plight of the chimpanzees at the HSUS sanctuary.

Who are the stakeholders?

New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) – The NIRC is a biomedical research facility at the University of Louisiana that, until 2015, bred chimpanzees, used them in experiments and leased them to other laboratories. When chimpanzee research in the United States ended in 2015, NIRC retired the 220 chimpanzees that it owned in the laboratory itself.

Project Chimps – Project Chimps is a Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuary in Northern Georgia that was incorporated in 2014 and is home to chimpanzees owned by NIRC. The original contract between Project Chimps and NIRC, signed in 2015, indicates that Project Chimps intended to transfer all 220 chimpanzees from NIRC to the sanctuary by the end of 2020.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) – HSUS is a Washington, D.C.-based animal protection organization. With annual revenues of between $125 and $160 million, iis the wealthiest animal protection organization in the world. In 2020, HSUS had over $284 million in net assets and spent $28.4 million in fundraising. That year, Forbes ranked HSUS number 78 on its list of the wealthiest 100 charities in the United States. 

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) – GFAS is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that sets standards that sanctuaries must meet in order to receive its coveted accreditation. Since being founded in 2007 by two HSUS executives (and two others who were not affiliated with HSUS), GFAS has had close administrative and financial ties to HSUS.

How was Project Chimps created?

In 2014, Sarah Baeckler and Bruce Wagman, both of whom were attorneys and chimp advocates, met with the University of Louisiana to ask if it would release the 220 chimps it owned at NIRC to a sanctuary. When the university agreed, they incorporated Project Chimps, and Wagman became the Chairman of the Board. As an outside attorney for HSUS, Wagman had a close working relationship with the organization and solicited its support in the expensive endeavor of creating Project Chimps.

In 2015, HSUS helped Project Chimps purchase a defunct gorilla sanctuary in Georgia that would serve as Project Chimps’ home. In exchange, HSUS took over a majority of seats on Project Chimps’ Board of Directors and “fully integrated” the sanctuary into the organization.

After Project Chimps was incorporated, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) took control of its Board of Directors, thereby taking responsibility for the welfare of the 220 chimpanzees that Project Chimps committed to rescuing from the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) at the University of Louisiana.

After Project Chimps was incorporated, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) took control of its Board of Directors, thereby taking responsibility for the welfare of the 220 chimpanzees that Project Chimps committed to rescuing from the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) at the University of Louisiana.

In December 2015, the University of Louisiana  and Project Chimps signed a contract that stipulated that the University would pay Project Chimps up to $19,000 for each of the 220 chimps it took over a five-year period. After five years, Project Chimps would have to pay the University a penalty of $42.24/day for every chimp it left behind. Project Chimps therefore had a strong financial incentive to take in all 220 chimps within five years (by the end of 2020).

The 2015 contract between the University of Louisiana and Project Chimps. The contract was amended in 2019 to remove the penalty and the understanding that Project Chimps would take all 220 chimpanzees.

The 2015 contract between the University of Louisiana and Project Chimps. The contract was amended in 2019 to remove the penalty and the understanding that Project Chimps would take all 220 chimpanzees.

By the end of 2019, Project Chimps had taken in 80 of the reported 220 chimps at NIRC. If it didn’t rescue the remaining NIRC chimps by the end of 2020, then it would have to pay the University a penalty of approximately $177,000/month, according to the contract. In July 2019, however, the University removed the penalty from the contract, eliminating any sense of urgency around expanding Project Chimps to accommodate the remaining NIRC chimpanzees. The amended contract also removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would take all of the chimpanzees. These significant changes to the contract, which appear to be an attempt by HSUS to minimize its expenses associated with expanding Project Chimps, could sentence many of the remaining NIRC chimps to life in the lab.

The revised contract between between Project Chimps and the University of Louisiana could sentence chimpanzees to life at the lab because it removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would rescue all 220 of them, and it removed the penalties to Project Chimps associated with leaving chimpanzees behind.

The revised contract between between Project Chimps and the University of Louisiana could sentence chimpanzees to life at the lab because it removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would rescue all 220 of them, and it removed the penalties to Project Chimps associated with leaving chimpanzees behind.

Today, Project Chimps has just 82 of the approximately 220 NIRC chimpanzees.

What is the relationship between HSUS and Project Chimps?

Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate, and the organizations are operationally intertwined. HSUS manages Project Chimps’s Information Technology department; pays its Executive Director; and files its tax returns. According to internal documents, Project Chimps employees are “HSUS professionals.”  In 2017, the sanctuary’s Executive Director Ali Crumpacker sent an email to the staff indicating that Project Chimps would soon be “fully integrated” into HSUS.

In an apparent attempt to absolve itself of its financial commitments to the chimpanzees and distance itself from the animal welfare controversy, HSUS has publicly claimed that Project Chimps is independent despite that fact that it has been "fully integrated" into HSUS since 2017 and despite the evidence that proves that Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate.

In an apparent attempt to absolve itself of its financial commitments to the chimpanzees and distance itself from the animal welfare controversy, HSUS has publicly claimed that Project Chimps is independent despite that fact that it has been “fully integrated” into HSUS since 2017 and despite the evidence that proves that Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate.

In 2020, HSUS controlled 7 of the 11 seats on Project Chimps’s Board of Directors.

In 2020, HSUS held 64% of the seats on Project Chimps Board of Directors while simultaneously claiming that it did not have decision making power and that it merely provided financial support to the sanctuary.

In 2020, HSUS held 64% of the seats on Project Chimps Board of Directors while simultaneously claiming that it did not have decision making power and that it merely provided financial support to the sanctuary.

When, in 2020, animal rights organizations began calling on HSUS to improve living conditions and animal care at Project Chimps, HSUS attempted to distance itself from the sanctuary – and its obligations to the chimpanzees – by removing several members of its leadership team from the sanctuary’s Board of Directors. It also claimed that it was merely a financial supporter of Project Chimps, despite the evidence proving that the sanctuary had been fully integrated into HSUS.

Today, four HSUS leaders have a seat on the board of Project Chimps. In order to give the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board than it does, Project Chimps removed reference to HSUS from two of their bios.

Reference to HSUS was removed from the bios of Marsha Perelman and Elizabeth Bradham, giving the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board - and exerts less influence over Project Chimps - than it does.

Reference to HSUS was removed from the bios of Marsha Perelman and Elizabeth Bradham, giving the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board – and exerts less influence over Project Chimps – than it does.

Despite of the evidence demonstrating its control over Project Chimps, HSUS is now claiming on its tax return that it has no operational control over its sanctuary.

Despite all of the evidence demonstrating otherwise, HSUS claims on its 2020 tax return that it has no operational control over Project Chimps.

 

Given HSUS’s vast wealth, why does animal welfare at Project Chimps fall short of the standards set by the North American sanctuary community? 

Project Chimps posts photos on social media that show chimpanzees enjoying a lush outdoor habitat and living their best possible lives in a captive setting, The day-to-day reality, however, is much different. 

The 82 chimpanzees at HSUS sanctuary Project Chimps have access to the outdoors just once every three days, but Project Chimps' public statements and social media posts suggest that they spend every day in a natural setting.

The 82 chimpanzees at HSUS sanctuary Project Chimps have access to the outdoors just once every three days, but Project Chimps’ public statements and social media posts suggest that they spend every day in a natural setting.

Project Chimps sits on 236 forested acres. Only six of them (2.5%), however, serve as outdoor space for the chimps. This outdoor area, referred to as the “habitat,” is divided into two yards, each of which can accommodate one group of chimps at a time. With six chimpanzee groups sharing two yards, each group has access to the habitat just once every three days (for four to six hours). The chimpanzees spend the rest of the time in covered, concrete rooms that have one or two open-air walls with metal bars. Because Project Chimps describes these concrete and metal enclosures as “outdoor porches,” the public is led to believe that the chimpanzees spend seven days a week outside in a natural setting.

Whistleblowers and animal rights activists assert that HSUS and Project Chimps are misleading donors and the public by describing the concrete rooms where the chimpanzees spend their days as "outdoor porches."

Whistleblowers and animal rights activists assert that HSUS and Project Chimps are misleading donors and the public by describing the concrete rooms where the chimpanzees spend their days as “outdoor porches.”

According to Project Chimps’ strategic plan, HSUS should have created three additional habitats at Project Chimps by now, but it hasn’t broken ground on any of them. HSUS hasn’t even announced a timeline for this desperately needed expansion.

HSUS was supposed to have created three additional habitats (A, B and C) by 2021, but it hasn't created any. As a result, the 82 chimps rotate into the one habitat just once every three days for part of the day.

HSUS was supposed to have created three additional habitats (A, B and C) by 2021, but it hasn’t created any. As a result, the 82 chimps rotate into the one habitat just once every three days for part of the day.

Despite the fact that sanctuaries are supposed to prioritize the needs of the animals, Project Chimps recently created hiking trails and banquet facilities for visitors.

The lack of sufficient habitat space for the chimpanzees begs several questions:

  1. Why didn’t HSUS create enough habitat space at Project Chimps in 2015, before it began bringing in chimpanzees from NIRC. And why, more than five years later, hasn’t HSUS announced a timeline for new habitats?
  2. Why does HSUS CEO Kitty Block blame COVID for the delay in creating additional habitats when HSUS should have broken ground on them several years before the pandemic?
  3. With its enormous wealth, why does HSUS allow Project Chimps to remain a substandard facility compared to other chimpanzee sanctuaries in North America?
  4. Why is HSUS withholding funds to improve and expand Project Chimps for the chimpanzees who are already there and for the 110 chimpanzees who are waiting to be rescued from NIRC? Twenty-six chimps have already died at NIRC while waiting.

According to Project Chimps, 26 chimpanzees have died at NIRC while waiting to be rescued. If HSUS had expanded Project Chimps when it took over its Board of Directors in 2015, then many of these chimps could have spent their final years in a sanctuary setting.

In May 2020, 22 employees and volunteers at Project Chimps wrote a letter to Bruce Wagman, the Chairman of the Board, to express their concerns about the lack of outdoor space and other serious welfare deficiencies. After Wagman dismissed their concerns, two former employees, Crystal Alba and Lindsay Vanderhoogt, launched a website, HelpTheChimps, which exposed not only their grim day-to-day lives in concrete rooms, but also poor veterinary care and pervasive neglect. An inspection report written by primatologist Dr. Steve Ross, a chimpanzee behavior specialist, and an investigative story published in National Geographic corroborated some, if not many, of the whistleblowers’ allegations.

Despite the fact that Project Chimps received a D on its welfare management programs at Project Chimps, HSUS uses Dr. Steve Ross' assessment of the sanctuary to defend against allegations of poor animal welfare conditions. Project Chimps blurred the report so that people who see it will read its reaction instead of the report itself.

Despite the fact that Project Chimps received a D on its welfare management programs at Project Chimps, HSUS uses Dr. Steve Ross’ assessment of the sanctuary to defend against allegations of poor animal welfare conditions. Project Chimps blurred the report so that people who see it will read its reaction instead of the report itself.

In July, 2021, HSUS CEO Kitty Block publicly acknowledged the need for additional yards at Project Chimps, but she did not specify when HSUS would create them. In a response to advocates who contacted her about the issue, Block blamed “COVID” and “weather” for the delay, despite the fact that the chimpanzees have been living in these conditions since 2016.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block's response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 82 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors. She and Susan Atherton, HSUS's board chair who also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020, have ignored the pleas of whistleblowers and advocacy groups to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block’s response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 82 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors. She and Susan Atherton, HSUS’s board chair who also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020, have ignored the pleas of whistleblowers and advocacy groups to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps.

Why is Project Chimps accredited? 

According to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), great apes who live at sanctuaries that it accredits should be “able to enjoy lives that are as close as possible to that of their wild counterparts.” Despite the fact that Project Chimps does not meet this and many other GFAS standards, GFAS continues to accredit the HSUS sanctuary. HSUS, in turn, uses this accreditation to dismiss criticism and discredit those advocating for better conditions. Neither GFAS nor HSUS has disclosed, however, the conflicts of interest between the organizations — GFAS is comprised of people affiliated with HSUS; is partially funded by HSUS; and has administrative ties to HSUS. In fact, the GFAS domain name is managed by HSUS.

Advocates assert that GFAS cannot objectively assess Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuaries if HSUS funds GFAS, manages its domain and shares staff members and board directors,

Advocates assert that GFAS cannot objectively assess Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuaries if HSUS funds GFAS, manages its domain and shares staff members and board directors,

GFAS was founded in 2007 by four individuals, two of whom worked for HSUS. Mike Markarian was HSUS’s Chief Operating Officer, and Adam Roberts was the treasurer of HSUS’s political action committee. From 2008 to 2015, Roberts was the President of Board of GFAS, and Markarian was the Vice President. From 2016 to 2019, Roberts was the Secretary. In 2019, he became the Board president again. While 2020 tax documents are not yet public, the GFAS website lists both Roberts and Markarian as board members today. In fact, 40% of GFAS’s current board is comprised of executives who work – or worked – for HSUS.

Since GFAS was incorporated in 2007, its Board of Directors has been comprised in large part by current and former HSUS leaders. Given that GFAS is charged with inspecting HSUS sanctuaries, HSUS's representation on GFAS's board represents a conflict of interest.

Since GFAS was incorporated in 2007, its Board of Directors has been comprised in large part by current and former HSUS leaders. Given that GFAS is charged with inspecting HSUS sanctuaries, HSUS’s representation on GFAS’s board represents a conflict of interest.

In 2008, a former Executive Director of a division of HSUS (the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education) became the Executive Director of GFAS. This former HSUS executive, Patty Finch, held the top staff position at GFAS from 2008 to 2013.

GFAS and HSUS have attempted to erase some of their connections in order to minimize the appearance of a conflict of interest and to help GFAS maintain a veneer of independence. For instance, the biography of Adam Roberts on GFAS’s website omits his work for HSUS, and the biography of GFAS board member Melissa Rubin omits her 31 years of employment at HSUS. In fact, it only lists a job that she has held for nine months.

Melissa Rubin's biography on the GFAS website omits her almost 31 years of employment at HSUS. This removal of her HSUS career minimizes the appearance of the conflict of interest between GFAS and HSUS.

Melissa Rubin’s biography on the GFAS website omits her almost 31 years of employment at HSUS. This removal of her HSUS career minimizes the appearance of the conflict of interest between GFAS and HSUS.

Following are examples of other GFAS board members and executives who have – or had – close ties to HSUS:

  • GFAS board member Nicole Paquette is Chief Programs and Policy Officer for HSUS. (Paquette also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020.)
  • GFAS executive Grettel Delgadillo is a Program Coordinator for HSI, a division of HSUS.
  • GFAS executive Kristin Leppert was formerly employed by HSUS. (In 2020, Leppert inspected Project Chimps on behalf of GFAS)
  • Former HSUS board member Peter Bender served on the board of GFAS from its inception until 2020. 

These financial, staffing and administrative conflicts of interest between GFAS and HSUS compromise GFAS’s ability to make unbiased assessments of an HSUS sanctuary. In order to remain credible and avoid diminishing the value of its accreditation, GFAS should publicly disclose its conflicts of interest with HSUS and recuse itself from inspecting HSUS sanctuaries.

In public statements using its GFAS accreditation to dismiss concerns about animal welfare at its sanctuary, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) doesn't disclose its conflicts of interest with GFAS.

In public statements using its GFAS accreditation to dismiss concerns about animal welfare at its sanctuary, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) doesn’t disclose its conflicts of interest with GFAS.

In April 2021, TheirTurn published a story describing in detail the conflict of interest between HSUS and GFAS.

In recent years, GFAS suspended its accreditation from two other primate sanctuaries that did not meet its standards, Chimps Inc and Jungle Friends. Advocates believe it would have suspended the accreditation of Project Chimps too if it didn’t have a conflict of interest with HSUS.

What is HSUS’s Obligation to the Chimps?

When HSUS took control of the board of Project Chimps in 2015, it made a commitment to fulfill the sanctuary’s mission to provide humane retirement to the 220 chimpanzees at NIRC. As part of that commitment, HSUS should have built enough housing structures to accommodate all of the NIRC chimpanzees and created enough habitat space to enable them to have daily access to the outdoors. By reneging on its commitment and by distancing itself from Project Chimps, HSUS has betrayed the chimpanzees, its fiduciary duties and its obligations to its affiliate sanctuary.

As the 78th most wealthy charity in the United States, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has the resources to expand its Project Chimps sanctuary to humanely accommodate the 82 chimps who are already there and the approximately 130 chimps waiting to be rescued from NIRC.

As the 78th most wealthy charity in the United States, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has the resources to expand its Project Chimps sanctuary to humanely accommodate the 82 chimps who are already there and the approximately 110 chimps waiting to be rescued from NIRC.

Save The Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida that has approximately 230 chimpanzees, is backed by The Arcus Foundation. Similarly, Chimp Haven, a sanctuary in Louisiana with more than 300 chimpanzees, receives 75% of its chimp care funding from the NIH. In order to rescue the approximately 110 chimpanzees who remain at NIRC and to humanely accommodate the 82 chimpanzees who are already at the sanctuary, Project Chimps also needs financial backing. HSUS made a commitment to do so. And it has the resources. Over the past several years, HSUS has raised millions of dollars off of the plight of captive chimpanzees and, according to an inside source, it recently received a $100 million estate gift from a donor who had an affinity for chimpanzees.

Instead of misleading the public about conditions at Project Chimps, attempting to extricate itself of its obligations and making excuses for it hasn’t expanded Project Chimps, HSUS must use a fraction of its substantial wealth to break ground on new habitats and transform the 236 acre forested property into a true sanctuary that meets and exceeds the standards of other North American chimpanzee sanctuaries provide. The chimpanzees have already waited far too long for a safe, natural and enriched life.  

In 2020 and 2021, animal rights activists with Progress for Science staged multiple protests at the Los Angeles home of HSUS board member Steven White. White is no longer listed as a board member, but activists argue that his decision to step down or remove his name from the list did nothing to help the chimpanzees who he neglected while he had a seat.

In 2020 and 2021, animal rights activists with Progress for Science staged multiple protests at the Los Angeles home of HSUS board member Steven White. White is no longer listed as a board member, but activists argue that his decision to step down or remove his name from the list did nothing to help the chimpanzees who he neglected while he had a seat.

People around the world have been frustrated about the pandemic “lockdowns” despite the fact that most have been able to enjoy the outdoors and the comforts of home. If we feel like our freedoms have been compromised, then imagine the stress experienced by the chimpanzees who have spent up to five years largely confined in concrete rooms at Project Chimps and up to several decades in a laboratory before that.

After Project Chimps sued the whistleblowers who exposed substandard living conditions, poor veterinary care animal other forms of neglect at the sanctuary, animal rights activists and national animal rights groups, including PETA and the Nonhuman Rights Project, began calling on HSUS to improve its facility.

After Project Chimps sued the whistleblowers who exposed substandard living conditions, poor veterinary care animal other forms of neglect at the sanctuary, animal rights activists and national animal rights groups, including PETA and the Nonhuman Rights Project, began calling on HSUS to improve its facility.

*If you know of any information in this report or previous or future articles on this topic to be inaccurate, please contact us with documentation.


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Activists Erect Billboard in Georgia to Expose Cruelty at Project Chimps

September 28, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

Chimpanzee advocates have erected a billboard near Project Chimps in Georgia to raise awareness of the plight of the 77 chimpanzees who live there. At this Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) facility, the 77 chimpanzees have access to the outdoors for just a few hours every three days. They spend the rest of the time languishing in concrete rooms. Activists put up the billboard on the weekend of September 25th to coincide with “Discovery Days” at Project Chimps, a semi-annual, two day open house that attracts hundreds of visitors.
Advocacy groups erected a billboard calling on The Humane Society of the United States to transform its Project Chimps facility from a warehouse to a true sanctuary

Advocacy groups erected a billboard calling on The Humane Society of the United States to transform its Project Chimps facility from a warehouse to a true sanctuary

The billboard is the latest tactic in a campaign to compel HSUS to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps. Activists with Chimps Deserve Better, Progress for Science and TheirTurn launched the campaign in July, 2020, after Project Chimps filed a lawsuit against two whistleblowers who came forward with extensive evidence of animal cruelty. As part of the campaign, the advocacy groups are calling on HSUS to transform the facility from a warehouse into a true sanctuary where the chimps spend their days in an outdoor habitat on the 236 acre forested property.
At Project Chimps, the Humane Society's chimpanzee "sanctuary" in Georgia, the 77 chimpanzees spend most of the time in concrete rooms.

At Project Chimps, the Humane Society’s chimpanzee “sanctuary” in Georgia, the 77 chimpanzees spend most of the time in concrete rooms.

In July, 2021, HSUS CEO Kitty Block acknowledged the need for additional yards, but she did not specify when Project Chimps would create them. In a response to advocates who contacted her about the deficiency, Block blamed “COVID” and “weather” for the delay, despite the fact that the chimpanzees have been living in these conditions since 2016.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block’s response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 77 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors.

“How can HSUS blame COVID-19 for its inability to build yards for the chimps when Project Chimps was able to create elaborate hiking trails for visitors during the pandemic?” said Lindsay Vanderhoogt, one of 22 whistleblowers who sent a letter to the Chairman of the Board, Bruce Wagman, to sound the alarm about poor welfare conditions. “Project Chimps is supposed to be a sanctuary, not a zoo, yet it continues to prioritize the entertainment of tourists ahead of the welfare of the animals.”
At Project Chimps, HSUS has prioritized amenities for tourists ahead of some of the basic needs of the chimps.

At Project Chimps, HSUS has prioritized amenities for tourists ahead of some of the basic needs of the chimps.

HSUS’s multi-year delay in creating additional yards doesn’t only affect the 77 chimpanzees at Project Chimps; it also impacts the estimated 120 retired chimpanzees at New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) who are waiting to be sent to a sanctuary. In 2016, Project Chimps signed a contract with NIRC which stipulated that its 220 chimps would be sent exclusively to Project Chimps. In a call on August 9th, however, NIRC Director Dr. Francois Villinger told Donny Moss of TheirTurn that he would not transfer any additional chimpanzees to Project Chimps until the sanctuary addresses the space issues. “Because HSUS is dragging its feet on expanding Project Chimps, the chimps at NIRC are stuck there for the indefinite future,” said Moss. “This is especially troubling given the recent instances of animal cruelty uncovered at NIRC by the advocacy group Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN).”

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

Among the NIRC chimpanzees transferred to Project Chimps before the moratorium are Hercules and Leo, clients of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) who were made famous by the 2016 documentary film Unlocking The Cage. In 2015, a New York lab (that leased them from NIRC) released them after years of legal pressure applied by NhRP.  To ensure a humane retirement for Hercules and Leo, NhRP made arrangements to transfer them from NIRC to Save The Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida where they would spend their days outdoors. Because of its exclusive contract with Project Chimps, however, NIRC sent Hercules and Leo to the Georgia sanctuary instead, where they spend most of the time in concrete rooms. Now, NhRP is engaged in another battle on behalf  Hercules and Leo – this time with HSUS. After HSUS privately dismissed their concerns about their clients’ captivity at Project Chimps, NhRP took the unusual step of publicly calling on HSUS to provide Hercules and Leo with daily access to the outdoors.
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are engaged in a public battle over the plight of Hercules and Leo, NhRP clients who are languishing in concrete enclosures at HSUS’s Project Chimps facility in Georgia.

Crystal Alba, a Project Chimps whistleblower who created a website to expose the mistreatment at the facility, summed up the sentiments of all of the advocates working on the effort to help these chimpanzees: “For the sake of all of the chimps – those awaiting sanctuary at the NIRC and those already at Project Chimps, I hope that HSUS addresses the most serious animal welfare issues by creating more outdoor habitats, hiring a qualified veterinarian, and providing the comprehensive care these chimps need to thrive in captivity.”


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Animal Rights Activists Nationwide Protest HSUS over Conditions at Project Chimps

August 27, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

In August, hundreds of animal rights activists across the country took to social media to call on The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to provide the 77 chimpanzees in their care at Project Chimps with daily access to the outdoors. At Project Chimps, HSUS’s 236 acre forested sanctuary in Georgia, the chimpanzees have access to an outdoor habitat for just a few hours every three days. They spend the rest of the time in concrete enclosures.

Jane Velez-Mitchell, an author, animal rights journalist and former TV news anchor with HLN, is calling on HSUS to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps.

On August 14th, activists with the animal rights group CAFT staged a protest at the San Francisco home of Susan Atherton, the Chair of the Board of HSUS. “Can you imagine being locked in a cement cage for days on end, and you only get a break for a just couple of hours to get outside in the sun, in the trees,” said Nick Pecoraro, an organizer with CAFT. “The Humane Society should be doing better.”

Lindsay Vanderhoogt, one of two former employees who Project Chimps sued for blowing the whistle about conditions at the sanctuary, created a video explaining the outdoor access issue. (Crystal Alba, the other whistleblower, is creating a video series about the deficient vet care at Project Chimps. This is the first video in the series.)

In response to a grass roots letter writing campaign in July, HSUS CEO Kitty Block acknowledged the need for additional yards, but she did not specify when Project Chimps would create them. She also blamed “COVID” and “weather” for the delay, despite the fact that the chimpanzees have been living in these conditions since 2016.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block’s response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 77 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors.

“How can HSUS use COVID as an excuse for its failure to build yards for the chimps when it created hiking trails for visitors during the pandemic?” said Bob Ingersoll, a primatologist supporting the calls of advocacy groups and whistleblowers to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps. “Instead of using her public relations team to produce misleading statements, Kitty Block should use HSUS’s vast resources to transform Project Chimps from a warehouse into the sanctuary they claim it is.”

Instead of acknowledging that the chimpanzees have access to the outdoors for just a few hours every three days, HSUS and Project Chimps claim that the chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors on porches, which are covered concrete rooms with metal bars.

As of 2019, HSUS had $299.5 million in assets according to its tax filings. That year, it generated $159 million in revenues. Given the vast amount of money it raises off of its donors and its penchant for using chimpanzees as fundraising tools, advocates believe that HSUS should invest in outdoor yards now.

Humane Society of the United States 2019 tax filings

Since launching a campaign to help the chimps in mid-2020, whistleblowers from Project Chimps and animal rights groups have asked the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), a highly esteemed sanctuary accrediting body, why it accredits Project Chimps in light of the fact that it doesn’t meet GFAS standards for great ape sanctuaries. While they did not receive an answer, a TheirTurn investigation revealed close financial and administrative ties between GFAS and HSUS. The conflict of interest is addressed on GFAS’s Wikipedia page.

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuary’s Wikipedia page includes the conflict of interest that explains why the organization accredits a sanctuary that doesn’t meet its standards

In June 2020, animal rights activists with Progress for Science, Chimps Deserve Better, Do The Right Thing and TheirTurn launched a campaign to help the chimpanzees after learning that Project Chimps sued two whistleblowers who came forward publicly about the poor welfare standards at the sanctuary. The whistleblowers, who posted extensive evidence in support of their claims at HelpTheChimps.org, spent $30,000 on their legal defense before Project Chimps dropped the lawsuit.

“HSUS’s efforts to silence and intimidate whistleblowers inadvertently shined a spotlight on the abysmal welfare conditions at Project Chimps,” said Donny Moss, an organizer in the campaign to help the chimps. “If HSUS hadn’t taken page out of the playbook of big animal ag by suing the women who came forward, then the nationwide grassroots efforts to help these chimps might never have taken place.”

Animal rights activists around the country are calling on The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 77 chimpanzees in their care have access to the outdoors every day.


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Chimps at Humane Society Sanctuary Barely Get Outside. What Happens Next?

August 4, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

Project Chimps, a 236-acre forested chimpanzee sanctuary in Georgia, features picturesque hiking trails, beautiful banquet facilities and festive events for visitors. What it does not feature, however, is far more remarkable: daily access for the chimpanzees to the 236 forested acres. Access to the forested habitats is so limited, in fact, that the 77 chimpanzees who live at this Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) facility get outside for just a few hours once every three days. It’s the antithesis of a chimp-centric sanctuary.

When, in May 2020, 22 Project Chimps’ employees and volunteers blew the whistle about this and several other serious animal welfare deficiencies at the sanctuary, local and national animal advocacy groups began to privately – and then publicly – demand that HSUS transform Project Chimps into a true sanctuary that meets the standards set by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).

Before the whistleblowers came forward, animal advocates believed that Project Chimps was a true sanctuary. The photos and videos that Project Chimps posts online each day show chimpanzees moving freely through a lush habitat and basking in the sun — not languishing in concrete rooms. “The images of former research chimpanzees enjoying their ‘retirement’ don’t resemble their day-to-day lives behind bars,” said Lindsay Vanderhooght, a whistleblower who Project Chimps sued for defamation. “Images that depict the true conditions in which the chimpanzees live wouldn’t bring in donations, so Project Chimps is engaging in greenwashing.”

Project Chimps’ social media posts give the impression that the chimpanzees spend their days outdoors.

While Project Chimps does acknowledge that the chimps have access to the habitat just once every three days, it claims that the “porches” where the chimps spend their days are also outdoors. This is not true; the porches are covered concrete rooms that merely have a view of the outdoors through metal bars.

Project Chimps claims that the chimpanzees have access to the outdoors every day on “outdoor porches,” but the porches are covered concrete rooms with metal bars

According to animal caregivers who worked at Project Chimps, the incessant confinement in overcrowded spaces with minimal enrichment has triggered and/or exacerbated stereotypic behaviors, such as hair plucking, feces smearing, pacing and swaying. After whistleblowers posted videos of these behaviors, Project Chimps attempted to downplay them in a blog post entitled, “Is Anyone Normal?” While Project Chimps accurately states that chimpanzees display these behaviors if their environment doesn’t enable them to fulfill their behavioral needs, it doesn’t acknowledge its role is causing these behaviors and the gravity and extent of the problem at its own facility. 

Project Chimps posted an article about abnormal chimpanzee behaviors without acknowledging its role in causing them

Project Chimps occupies 236 acres, but only six of them serve as an outdoor habitat for the chimpanzees. This habitat is divided into two yards. Each day, Project Chimps rotates one group of chimps into each yard for a few hours. Because Project Chimps currently has five groups, each group has access to a yard just once every three days.

For the past several months, advocates have asked Project Chimps to implement a temporary fix until additional yards are created. Instead of rotating one group of chimps into each yard in the middle of the day, Project Chimps could rotate two groups of chimps into each yard every day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. That schedule would give the chimps access to the outdoors four or five times per week instead of two or three times. 

Another temporary fix would be to split the six acre habitat into five yards instead of two – one yard for each of the buildings (“villas”) that house the chimps. That would provide the chimps with unfettered access to the outdoors every day. 

If Project Chimps split the six acre habitat into five yards instead of two, then all of the chimps could have access to the outdoors every day instead of every three days

Over the past year, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), an advocacy group that litigates on behalf of captive animals, has issued several public statements calling on HSUS to give its clients Hercules and Leo, who they liberated from a lab, daily access to an outdoor habitat. Following are excerpts from its first statement, posted in October, 2020:

“In 2018, after Hercules and Leo arrived at Project Chimps, we wrote to Kitty Block, president of HSUS, on behalf of our clients and presented our serious and well-founded concerns about Project Chimps’ capacity to provide appropriate care to Hercules and Leo, especially regarding daily access to an outdoor habitat, which is essential to chimpanzees’ ability to exercise their autonomy and their physical and psychological health. Ms. Block dismissed our concerns, writing that HSUS is ‘confident that Project Chimps will devote the resources necessary to provide the best lifetime care to all of the chimpanzees at its sanctuary, including Hercules and Leo.’”

The Nonhuman Rights Project is calling out the Humane Society for its failure to fulfill the promises they made to Hercules and Leo after they were liberated from a lab.

“We have learned and Project Chimps does not dispute, that Hercules and Leo are confined to an indoor housing structure with cement floors and an enclosed porch all but ten hours a week. Project Chimps’ Executive Director told us they expect the earliest they will receive daily outdoor access is in two years. In our view, this timeline is an unacceptable failure to live up to Project Chimps’ founding promise: lifelong exemplary care for chimpanzees retired from research.”

The Nonhuman Rights Project is calling on The Humane Society of the United States to provide its clients, Hercules and Leo, with daily access to an outdoor yard.

In June, Project Chimps posted an article written by an artist who painted a mural inside of a chimpanzee enclosure: “Murals Enrich Lives of Endangered Chimps in North Georgia.” According to chimpanzee caregivers, murals might serve as a distraction for a few minutes, but they wouldn’t enrich the lives of the chimps any more than murals in zoos enrich the lives of those captive animals. True chimp-centric enrichment engages the minds and bodies of the chimps who, by virtue of living in captivity, cannot perform the activities that would keep them engaged in their natural habitat. Also, paintings of elements from nature or the animals’ natural habitat can frustrate the animals, who crave the real thing. To the tourists passing through and people on social media, however, the decorative walls leave a better impression than flaking grey paint on concrete.

In the article about murals, the Executive Director of Project Chimps, Ali Crumpacker, states, “They [the chimpanzees] gave so much to humanity. It’s time to give back.” Warehousing chimpanzees in concrete rooms (with murals) is not “giving back” to them. It is taking away what few pleasures they could have in captivity. In response to Crumpacker’s remarks, Cory Mac, an organizer in the campaign to help the chimpanzees, said, “Painting murals is a cynical waste of resources; the time and money spent on these projects should have been devoted to chimp-centric activities. Also, the chimps never “gave” themselves to humanity. Their freedom was taken away from them against their will.”

The murals on the walls at Project Chimps are no more enriching for the chimpanzees than zoo mural are for the captive animals who are put on display

Despite the fact that the chimpanzees spend their days in concrete rooms, HSUS has used its PR machine to lead the public and its donors into believing that Project Chimps is a true sanctuary, and The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) is enabling HSUS to perpetuate this falsehood. GFAS, a global sanctuary accrediting organization, continues to accredit Project Chimps despite the fact that it does not meet many of the standards it sets for great ape sanctuaries. In fact, whistleblowers at Project Chimps identified 21 examples.

Whistleblowers documented 21 conditions at Project Chimps that fail to meet GFAS standards for great ape sanctuaries. Click the illustration to see all 21 conditions.

Puzzled by the GFAS accreditation, TheirTurn researched the relationship between GFAS and HSUS and identified several conflicts of interests, outlined in detail in another article. In short, GFAS is comprised of people affiliated with HSUS; has administrative ties to HSUS; and is partially funded by HSUS. How can GFAS make unbiased assessments of an HSUS sanctuary if HSUS is one of its donors? 

GFAS defines a sanctuary as “any facility providing temporary or permanent safe haven to animals in need while meeting the principles of true sanctuaries: providing excellent and humane care for their animals in a non-exploitative environment.” GFAS knows that the chimpanzees are not receiving excellent or humane care. Project Chimps doesn’t even have a veterinarian on staff with primate experience. It also knows that, by transforming Project Chimps into a tourist attraction, HSUS is not creating a “non-exploitive environment.” 

Click image to play video

In May 2021, Project Chimps held a ribbon cutting ceremony – with no sense of irony – to announce the opening of new hiking trails for visitors. “The hiking trails are one of many amenities designed to entertain visitors, but true sanctuaries are created for and designed around the needs of animals, not visitors,” said Bob Ingersoll, a primatologist who advocates on behalf of captive chimpanzees. “If Project Chimps is going to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony, it should be to announce the creation of new outdoor yards or a clinic for the chimps, not a tourist concession.”

At Project Chimps, HSUS has prioritized amenities for tourists ahead of some of the basic needs of the chimps.

On July 2nd, 2021 Kitty Block, the CEO of HSUS, issued the following statement in response to a letter-writing campaign calling on her to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps: “The HSUS has clearly communicated that we agree with Project Chimps’ longstanding plan to build out its facilities and staff to support more time in outdoor habitat space for all the chimps at the sanctuary, and that we’ll be directing our future financial support of the sanctuary toward those priority needs.”  While advocates are glad that HSUS is finally acknowledging the need to build yards for the chimps, Ms. Block’s statement begs many questions:

  1. If Project Chimps was meant to be a sanctuary where “chimpanzees will thrive” and “make their own decisions on how they live,” then why didn’t HSUS create sufficient outdoor areas six years ago — before they began bringing in the chimpanzees?
  2. What is HSUS’s plan and timeline to create new habitats?
  3. What steps will Project Chimps take now to increase outdoor time in the existing habitat?
  4. Why does the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) continue to accredit a sanctuary that provides its animals with so little time outdoors and that prioritizes amenities for tourists ahead of the some of the basic needs of the animals?

Despite the fact that it didn’t have outdoor space for the chimpanzees util 2018, Project Chimps began bringing in chimpanzees in 2016.


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