Last year, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) gained international notoriety when it abandoned more than 60 chimpanzees in Liberia to die after using them for decades in harmful research. At the time, the chimpanzees—who are completely dependent on humans for their survival—were in an extremely dire situation as their caretakers had been left with no resources to care for the chimpanzees and the chimps’ water systems were broken. The caretakers sounded the alarm and, fortunately, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International were able to step in to provide emergency funding on the ground…
Author: Kathleen Conlee
Kathleen Conlee
Kathleen Conlee is the Vice President of Animal Research Issues for the Humane Society of America. Kathleen works to eliminate the pain and suffering of laboratory animals, with the long-term goal to end their use in harmful research entirely. Along with many other HSUS efforts, Kathleen works specifically to end the use of chimpanzees in invasive research. Her dedication to chimpanzee welfare predates her 17 years with the HSUS. As the manager of breeding and behavior at a primate breeding center and supervisor of care at the Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation sanctuary, Kathleen reduced captive stressors and attended to the care of numerous primates.
