FROM FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA MARCH 24, 2011

Slowly one by one, eleven chimpanzees who had arrived at Florida after a long a lomg trip from New Mexico (a lot of them getting in touch with the external world for the first time) get out their bedroom and dining hall to the island which will host them for the rest of their lives.

We are outside the island, which is linked to the bedrooms by a land and grass arm, and a fence that ends in the water avoids runaways. The chimpanzees are small and have a lot of hair missing on their body. They do not yell, do not make noise, walk carefully, step on the grass as it was crystal, and hold the fence to go down a small slope, get to the water and when they feel it get back immediately.

An old female chimpanzee enters the island. But she gives up, for it seems to be a very huge effort for her. Only Jack, showing his past in the circus, moves with agility, tease the females and blows the males, intending to show he can be the alpha male.

A TV team films everything and registers the migration of these chimpanzees since their origin. Another TV team, from a local channel, films and interviews the director of Save the Chimps sanctuary. We also filmed, because we do not want that the images are kept only on our memory: the meeting of hell and heaven that these group of chimpanzees are sensing.

We started to reflect trying to understand the reason, how this could have happened in the most powerful country on Earth. We let our imagination flows and realized that this is the top of an iceberg and represents the torture of chimpanzees and millions of animals. Another one thousand beings like these wait for a final destiny, now semi-retired after suffering for decades with the medical torture.

How United States reached this situation? After thinking a lot we think we know the reason and who are to be blamed for this humanity drama. In the 80`s, HIV was being discovered and scientists gave their opinion.

In the 80`s the HIV was discovered and scientists were guessing that chimpanzee blood was introduced in humans and generated the transposition of the virus. This was a hypothesis that was never proved. HIV was spreading, millions of people were contaminated and thousands were dying. Another group of scientists, supported by NIH – North-American Health Institute, decided to discover a vaccine. Again the chimpanzees were used and a lot of orders were made to animal’s dealers. Hundreds of parents were killed and their baby chimpanzees were caught in African forest and sent to USA, to be used as a material for the “magical vaccine”. No one tested in a chimpanzee if he or she got ill or resisted the inoculation of the HIV. No one spent time to research about the virus that hurt those primates and to discover SIV, similar to HIV but with peculiarities.

Each baby chimpanzee worth USD 60 thousand at those times, 20 years ago. The reproduction also happened at the research labs in order to obtain more “material”. Coulston Foundation, in New Mexico, used to be one of the centers. Some of those who live today on the islands of Florida were born there and had never seen the sun, stepped on the grass or hold their mothers.

A North-American TV channel journalist asked me: who are to be blamed for all this? Why American society, suffering with a recession and unemployed has to donate money to keep them alive? The ones who are guilty are the scientists and NIH, which do not know to respect anyone or anything in the name of profit. They are the ones who should pay for what they have done and must support the several sanctuaries needed to host the one thousand chimpanzees who still live in cages at labs. The society is paying for them today for compassion. Millions of North-Americans and people from other countries donate every year so that Save the Chimps sanctuary – the biggest one for chimpanzees in the world – continues to shelter and saving from death and torture these naïve beings, with whom we share a common ancestor for million years.

Our visit finishes. We are happy for one side, but sad for another, for those who still live with no access to the external world and without a helping hand. But hope rises. Years ago Dr, Carole Noon entered at Coulston Foundation Laboratory, opened the door and found Carlos inside a jail, an innocent chimpanzee who lived there for 20 years, alone and abandoned. Her strong spirit broke into tears and converted in the promise of taking all of them out of this and other torture centers. She gave freedom to 220 chimpanzees of New Mexico and put them under her protection. Only 50 did not arrive at Florida yet and the arrival is planned for this year. For us this is also a fresh start, because we are going to dedicate all our effort to take away from the dark those who she was not able to free, as long as a cancer took Carole away early from this world, together with a lot of her beloved chimpanzees, who are together with her in the trip for infinite.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International