Animal Protection Group Blasts New Mexico Court of Appeals for Upholding Dismissal of Historic Criminal Cruelty Charges Against Chimpanzee Lab

IDA Urges the Attorney General to Appeal Decision that "Flies in the Face of Justice, Legislative Intent and Common Sense"

Albuquerque, N.M. – The New Mexico Court of Appeals decision to uphold the dismissal of historic criminal animal cruelty charges filed against National Institutes of Health (NIH) contractor Charles River Laboratories on an "egregious technicality" "flies in the face of justice, legislative intent and common sense," In Defense of Animals (IDA) declared today.

"Yesterday, the New Mexico Court of Appeals held that Charles River’s decision to increase its profits on a $42 million, taxpayer-funded NIH contract by deliberately leaving sick and dying chimpanzees in the ‘care’ of untrained security guards constituted the practice of veterinary medicine, thereby exempting Charles River from prosecution under the New Mexico Animal Cruelty act," said IDA president Elliot M. Katz, DVM. "We strongly disagree with this frankly incredible interpretation of the law and urge the Attorney General to appeal this decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court."

In September 2004, Otero County, N.M. District Attorney Scot Key filed unprecedented multiple counts of criminal animal cruelty against Charles River for abandoning the critically ill or injured chimpanzees Rex, Ashley, and Topsy. Rex and Ashley died, and Topsy almost died. World-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall—who also wrote a letter to the editor published in the Albuquerque Journal—and other experts such as Harvard anthropologist Dr. Richard Wrangham submitted affidavits in support of the D.A.’s case. Visit NIH Chimp Cruelty and IDA's website.

The D.A.’s criminal investigation found that it was "standard practice" for Charles River to have trained animal care staff leave at the end of the workday and to have completely untrained security guards monitor the chimpanzees from a distance no matter how critically ill or injured they were.

Incredibly, the Appeals Court ruling found that this "standard practice" was a "manner or method of treatment" constituting the practice of veterinary medicine. The cruelty statute in New Mexico exempts the practice of veterinary medicine from criminal prosecution.

This ruling also states that no matter how "negligent, or even deliberately neglectful," Charles River’s conduct was, it is exempt from prosecution.

"In other words," said Katz, "this ruling found that the deliberate denial of veterinary care is actually the practice of veterinary medicine. As a veterinarian, I am profoundly outraged, offended and flabbergasted. This Court has given the likes of Charles River carte blanche to perpetrate whatever it wants on chimpanzees, under the rubric of the ‘practice of veterinary medicine.’"

Katz called this a clear case of "ignoring legislative intent," since the New Mexico legislature amended the cruelty statute in 2001 specifically because of abuses at this very same facility, involving these very same chimpanzees, under its previous operator, the Coulston Foundation. This amendment, which removed the blanket exemption for research facilities, enabled the D.A. to prosecute Charles River in the first place. "This is precisely the kind of ‘deliberately neglectful’ conduct the legislature meant to address in 2001," said Katz. "This Court has even gone so far as to state that deliberate abandonment and failure to provide necessary sustenance is precisely the kind of conduct the cruelty statute exempts, under the rubric of the ‘practice of veterinary medicine.’"

According to Katz, this gives facilities such as Charles River, and veterinarians in New Mexico, a "blank check" to commit cruelty against animals with absolutely no fear of prosecution. "If deliberately abandoning Rex, an unconscious and vomiting chimpanzee—even removing his life support—for him to be found dead hours later by security guards, with vomit in his mouth and trachea, does not constitute criminal animal cruelty, what does?"

This decision comes on the heels of the formation of a cruelty task force that includes Gov. Bill Richardson, Attorney General Gary King, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, and Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. The task force will, among other things, look to strengthen existing animal cruelty laws.

"Under this Court’s ruling, if any law needed strengthening, it is the cruelty to animals statute," concluded Katz. "We urge the Attorney General to appeal this gross miscarriage of justice that has enormous ramifications for all animals in New Mexico – and for all animals at facilities funded by the NIH. If the New Mexico Supreme Court does not overrule this judicial outrage, we urge the New Mexico legislature to ensure that this kind of abuse can never occur again without grave, criminal consequences. We also urge Congress to re-start its investigation of the NIH, which--incredibly--allowed Charles River to refuse to cooperate with the D.A.’s criminal investigation while continuing to fund the company with millions of tax dollars."

IDA is an international animal protection and advocacy group based in San Rafael, Calif. It provided D.A. Scot Key with whistleblower information which his office corroborated before filing the historic criminal cruelty charges against Charles River. Further information on the case can be found at the NIH Cruelty website. Read a copy of the ruling.