Project Chimps, a 236-acre facility near Blue Ridge, Georgia, welcomed Buttercup, Charisse, Emma, Genesis, Gertrude, Gracie, Jennifer, Latricia and Samira on Thursday. Project Chimps has an agreement with New Iberia to take all the chimps from the facility. Fish and Wildlife Service granted endangered species status to captive chimps — a designation that previously only applied to wild chimps. The NIH has no affiliation with the chimps being transferred to Project Chimps, according to the sanctuary. Former NIH chimps are being transferred to Chimp Haven, a federally funded sanctuary in Louisiana, though the process of moving all the chimps from NIH labs has come under fire for being slow.

Source: Huffington Post September 10, 2016 19:52 UTC