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= Project Chimps = Project Chimps is a non-profit organization that is devoted to the housing and care of retired laboratory Chimpanzees. The organization was founded by Sarah Baeckler Davis in 2014. Located in Morganton, Georgia, the 236-acre sanctuary is currently home to 59 chimps but may eventually house more than 200. All of the chimps were previously held at the New Iberia Research Center at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (NIRC) until they were retired in 2015.

Background
Biomedical experimentation on Chimpanzees began in the 1920's, and continued virtually uninterrupted for almost 100 years, with. In 2010, The Humane society of the United States along with Jane Goodall and other animal rights groups, filed a petition to have all chimpanzees, including those in captive, recognized as endangered. Wild Chimpanzees had been on the endangered list since 1990, and they believed that the captive status of a Chimpanzee should not affect its level of protection from the government. Subsequently, a report published by Institute of Medicine in 2011 concluded that Chimpanzees were “no longer useful subjects” for experimentation. This prompted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to announce soon after that it would no longer provide funding for any new project that involved the use of Chimpanzees in biomedical research. After starting an initiative in 2013 to phase out chimp research, the NIH announced it was retiring all of the government owned chimps in 2015 and sending them to government sanctuaries such as Chimps Inc and Save the Chimps.

Finally, in June 2015, the petition succeeded when Chimpanzees born and bred in captivity were officially placed on the endangered list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, effectively ending biomedical Chimpanzee research by private institutions in the United States. The decision garnered a lot of attention and praise, particularly from the Jane Goodall Institute.

History
In 2014, Sarah Baeckler-Davis, the founder and first CEO of Project Chimps joined Bruce Wagman, an expert animal lawyer to negotiate the release of the 220 Chimpanzees residing in the NIRC, the largest privately-owned chimp laboratory in the country. Not long after the chimps were classed as endangered, an agreement with NIRC was reached to retire the chimps at the facility. The next challenge for Project Chimps to get off the ground was finding a suitable location to house the great apes. A potential candidate was identified in the Dewar Wildlife Facility, a 236-acre property in Northern Georgia built originally as a gorilla sanctuary. The sanctuary, first known as Gorilla Haven was built in 2003 but never got running to the capacity that was envisioned in its conception due to financial issues. Baeckler-Davis approached the owner, Stewart Dewar, and he agreed to sell the land and donate the already existing buildings and facilities for 1.6 million dollars. The equity was provided mainly by the Humane society of the United States, along with various other groups such as the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Before any chimps could moved in, the sanctuary had to undergo an extensive renovation to ensure the enclosures would be suited to the chimpanzees needs and lifestyles. The first group of chimpanzees, made up of six males, were moved into their new home in September of 2016, and began to slowly acclimatize to their new surroundings. Since then the sanctuary has continued to move the chimps at a steady pace, reaching 59 occupants as of April 2019. According to current executive director Ali Crumpacker, the process will proceed in stages, with the sanctuary adding new enclosures periodically to increase its capacity. She has stated that they are planning to house all 220 former research chimps at Project Chimps by 2024.

Celebrity assistance and endorsements
Project Chimps has received support from a number of celebrities who identify with the cause. Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife Adrienne are founding board members, and continue to raise awareness. Amber Nash, a Georgia native and voice actor in the FX series Archer is also a board member. Celebrity chef and TV host Rachel Ra y was heavily involved in the renovations of the sanctuary, designing and financing a brand new state of the art kitchen facility. Beautician and TV personality Kat Von D supported the project by labeling a new line of lipstick as "Project Chimps" and donating a portion of sales to the sanctuary. Other celebrities that have voiced their support for the project include singer Pink, tennis star Serena Williams and actress Judy Greer, who also appears on Archer.

The Sanctuary
The 236-acre sanctuary is located in a lush rainforest approximately 100 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. With Rolling hills and abundant plant life, the environment provided is very similar to the natural habitat of the Pan Troglodytes, namely the forests of Tropical Africa. Physical buildings and enclosures in the sanctuary devoted to chimp care make up 40 of the total 236 acres, making it approximately one fifth of the size of the largest sanctuary in the world, Chimp Haven. The individual enclosures, known as villas, are essentially very large metal cages that house between 10 and 15 chimps each. The 1500 square feet villas each include two stories and multiple indoor and outdoor areas, including heated bedrooms. The outdoor habitat is approximately 6 acres in size and features multiple climbing structures to go along with the dense canopy of trees. On site, the sanctuary also has a fully operational veterinary center and an office building to go along with the enclosures.

The chimps are taken care of by a team of experts who were originally chosen by Baeckler Davis, informed by her extensive experience and connections in the chimpanzee sanctuary field. Volunteers also help to provide care for the chimps, but normally have little direct contact, instead performing service tasks such as food preparation. The aim of the staff is to provide an environment that as closely as possible simulates life in the wild for these animals. The chimps are given a healthy diet, engage in stimulating activities and have the freedom to explore the habitat and can even choose their own social groups. The socialization aspect is a slow and delicate process that includes multiple on on one meetings and group interactions to see if they connect with each other. Due to the nature of their history in the research centers, it can take a long time for chimps to adjust to the new circumstances and the staff must be patient. The staff are also not always informed of each animals previous history in experimentation, and thus approach each move with care and prepare to identify and support any potential trauma that the chimp may have experienced.

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