In 1997, they also were enlisted in early trials for an AIDS vaccine developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers. These animals have served our nation and really deserve a peaceful retirement. But, according to David McKinney , director of communications for the Coulston Foundation. Our reputation in the research community speaks for itself. Anyone who is familiar with us knows that we are not here to abuse or mistreat animals.
Chimpanzees are our allies in research and the battle against disease.
So, we cannot even begin to think of abusing them. But the battle over the astrochimps has brought unwanted attention to the Coulston organization. While McKinney is confident that the Coulston Foundation will continue to care for the chimps and make them available to researchers, he is not so sure that the public's perception of the use of animals in research will change. I lay blame squarely on the media. They have made no attempt to show the important role chimpanzees play in biomedical research and what animal models in general mean to scientific discovery.