Vilab II Introduction

Why was VILAB II established in Liberia?

1. When Alfred Prince and Betsy Brotman began their research with chimpanzees at New York University's primate research laboratory (LEMSIP) in 1970, chimpanzees were routinely housed singly in cages as small as 3 x 4 x 5 feet. Understandably, the animals were bored and depressed, and routinely exhibited aberrant behavior such as rocking.

2. Attempts to introduce even minimal environmental enhancement, such as the introduction of balls, were rejected as being "unsanitary."

3. They became progressively less able to continue our research under these inhumane conditions.

4. In 1974, while searching for a way to acquire chimps other than from commercial exporters (who procured wild baby chimps by the shooting of their mothers), Dr. Prince discovered the Liberian Institute of Tropical Medicine, which was by then largely empty. An aerial view, taken in 1983, is shown on the next page.

5. It was resolved, with the strong support of Dr. Aaron Kellner, founding President of the New York Blood Center, to move the research to Liberia, where the chimpanzees could be housed in a more kindly environment and eventually retired in socialized groups to the wild or to semi-wild conditions

This page last updated:
June 8, 2006

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