Retiring Grace

There are good-news stories in this world. Lots of them, actually. But you have to hunt for them, they're somehow not as readily accessible as all those other stories of human failures. So when we occasionally read about them, whether they're in the form of an 'in memoriam' about the life-work of a truly worthy human soul, or the decision of a group of laboratory investigative-scientists to right a wrong, it's welcome information to the rest of us.

The good news story highlighting today's news is that of an after-the-fact rescue of a group of laboratory experimental animals; chimpanzees, who share so many of the same DNA and evolutionary features as mankind; a species that evolved alongside man, then diverged to become identified as another, entirely separate group of primates, aside from homo sapiens sapiens.

The New York Blood Centre, a research institute with laboratories located at Robertsfield, Liberia, has purchased six remote African islands for the purpose of turning them into sanctuaries for chimpanzees, released from research laboratories after years of experimentation. The Vilab centre, originally set up in the 1970s, succeeded in developing vaccines against hepatitis B, and systems for blood sterilization preventing the spread of hepatitis and AIDS viruses.

There are now new models for pursuing the very same types of experimental research, without having to resort to the time-honoured (depending on your perspective, in which case it might be considered to be a dishonourable use of animals, whose lives were often sacrificed through scientific experiments to the greater good of the advancement of medicinal science to advantage mankind) use of animal models in the search for cures to human diseases.

"Research chimpanzees generally receive little reward for the knowledge we gain" through their use, said Betsy Brotman, director of the Vilab laboratory. "Once their work is over, their futures are grim. They often live out the rest of their lives, which can last an average of 50 years, in cramped cages or laboratories."

Ms. Brotman and her colleagues thought originally to release the animals into national parks in Liberia, but soon realized the chimpanzees would associate human presence with food presentation, a potential risk to tourists and villagers.
So they abandoned that idea, and bought the African islands, in a coastal estuary 16 kilometres from Vilab's base.

Ever since then they've released small groups of chimpanzees into the island environment. The blood centre is preparing to release all of the remaining experimental animals onto the islands. While the islands provide a safe retreat and haven for the new colony of chimpanzees, their size, between 10 and 90 acres is insufficient to provide all the nourishment the colony will require.

Leading to a long-term commitment on the part of the researchers and employees of the Vilab laboratory, who have endorsed the necessity to provide food on an ongoing basis, along with water during the dry season. To ensure that the needs of the chimpanzees are seen to in perpetuity, an endowment fund is being set up to provide the needed funding.

This humane initiative may become a template for other campaigners for animal rights, encouraging the setting up of similar sanctuaries for laboratory animals who have outlived their usefulness in experiments which can now be conducted through other means.