NIH Chimpanzee Management Program: Consolidation Should Achieve Cost Savings, but a Clear Implementation Plan Is Needed
Published: 2016-04-14T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: For over 50 years, the federal government has supported the use of chimpanzees in research; however, NIH recently suspended the use of chimpanzees in agency-supported invasive research. As of January 15, 2016, NIH owned or supported 561 chimpanzees in four facilities, including Chimp Haven, which was established as a federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary in accordance with the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act. In late 2015, NIH announced that all NIH-owned chimpanzees were eligible for retirement to Chimp Haven.
In 2013, Congress amended the Act authorizing appropriations for NIH's Chimpanzee Management Program through FY2018, with a provision for GAO to evaluate certain aspects of this program. In this report GAO examines: (1) the research and retirement status of chimpanzees owned or supported by NIH; (2) the costs for their care and transfers; and (3) potential cost savings associated with NIH's goal to transfer chimpanzees to Chimp Haven. GAO analyzed laws, regulations, and agency and facility policies, procedures, and data. GAO also visited the facilities, interviewed NIH and facility officials, and reviewed federal internal control standards.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: NIH-owned and NIH-supported chimpanzees are no longer used in invasive biomedical research, which is research that involves medical treatment outside of normal veterinary care. However, all NIH-owned and NIH-supported chimpanzees are eligible for use in non-invasive research, such as observational and behavioral research, even at the federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary, Chimp Haven. Most of the 561 chimpanzees that NIH owned or supported as of January 15, 2016, had not been retired to Chimp Haven, which housed179 NIH-owned chimpanzees at that time.
The costs NIH incurred to care for these chimpanzees varied among the facilities. For example, for the care provided from federal fiscal year 2013 through 2015, the average cost per-chimpanzee per-day incurred by NIH at the four facilities ranged from a low of $41 to a high of $61. The characteristics of each facility contributed to cost variations. For example, NIH's costs were lowest at Chimp Haven, which was likely attributable to matching fund requirements Chimp Haven must meet as defined in federal statute. Since FY2013, NIH has transferred 121 chimpanzees to Chimp Haven and incurred a total of $49,760 (or $411 per transferred chimpanzee) for those transfers.
NIH's goal to consolidate chimpanzees to Chimp Haven should result in savings, but the lack of long-term planning could diminish savings potential. Savings should occur largely because NIH's costs are lowest at Chimp Haven. NIH has communicated short-term plans to transfer to Chimp Haven 19 of the 382 chimpanzees that continue to be housed at other facilities, but according to agency officials, it has not developed or communicated a clear implementation plan to transfer the remaining chimpanzees, in part because of uncertainties about the available space at Chimp Haven. However, NIH has information about Chimp Haven's current capacity and about anticipated space that will become available as a result of chimpanzee mortality. Absent a clear implementation plan, the four facilities that care for NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees may not have the information they need to care for the chimpanzees in the most cost-effective way that considers the timing of the transfers and the welfare needs of the chimpanzees. For example, if facility officials have estimates of the number of chimpanzees that are expected to be transferred into or out of their facility within a given timeframe, they can then plan for appropriate increases or decreases in staffing levels. Moreover, the absence of such a plan is inconsistent with federal internal control standards that call for effective communication of quality information.
section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that the Secretary of Health of Human Services direct NIH to develop a clear implementation plan to meet its goal for the transfer of chimpanzees to Chimp Haven that considers both costs and chimpanzee welfare. In commenting on a draft of this report, HHS concurred with GAO's recommendation.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: For over 50 years, federal agencies have funded projects that used  chimpanzees in research. For example, the Department of Health and  Human Services (HHS) has funded invasive biomedical research projects  that focused on certain human diseases such as hepatitis and human  immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The National Institutes of Health (NIH)  owned or provided ongoing financial support for many of the  chimpanzees used in this research. Over time, evolving research  methods and technologies provided alternatives to the use of  chimpanzees in these areas of research, and, since 2011, NIH has taken  a number of steps that have resulted in suspending the use of its owned  or supported chimpanzees in any new invasive biomedical research  projects.
As of January 15, 2016, NIH’s Chimpanzee Management Program  provided for the care and maintenance of 561 NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees located in four facilities in the United States.  One of the facilities, Chimp Haven, was established in 1995 and  designated in 2002 as a federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary to  provide for the retirement care of chimpanzees that have been used in  federal research, in accordance with the Chimpanzee Health  Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act (CHIMP Act). NIH  provides funding to each of the four facilities for the care, maintenance,  and transfer of the chimpanzees. In 2013, NIH announced that the  majority of NIH-owned chimpanzees would be moved to the federally  funded sanctuary at Chimp Haven as space became available and  permanently retired from invasive biomedical research. At the same time,  it announced a strategy to select approximately 50 chimpanzees from  among those it owned or supported, which would be maintained for such  research studies. More recently, in the summer of 2015, the U.S. Fish  and Wildlife Service added captive chimpanzees to the Federal List of  Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, which added restrictions to the  potential use of chimpanzees in such research. After this decision, NIH  announced that all of the NIH-owned chimpanzees were now eligible for  retirement to the federal sanctuary as space permitted. While the  announcement did not address NIH-supported chimpanzees, the CHIMP  Act allows for any chimpanzee that is not owned by the federal  government to be accepted into the federal chimpanzee retirement  sanctuary if the owner transfers the chimpanzee’s title.
Since 1995, when NIH stopped breeding chimpanzees, the population of  NIH-owned and NIH-supported chimpanzees has decreased due to  mortality, and NIH estimates that some chimpanzees that NIH owns could  live for another 20 years or more. The CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013  authorized appropriations for the care of NIH-owned or NIH-supported  chimpanzees through fiscal year 2018. The law also included a provision  for GAO to evaluate certain aspects of the status and costs of care for  these chimpanzees. In this report, we: 1)  examined the current research and retirement status of  chimpanzees owned or supported by NIH;  2)  examined the costs for the care and transfer of chimpanzees  owned or supported by NIH; and   3)  evaluated potential cost savings associated with NIH’s goal to  transfer its chimpanzees to Chimp Haven.
To examine the current research and retirement status of chimpanzees  owned or supported by NIH, we reviewed applicable laws, regulations,  and agency documents. We examined data from NIH and the four  facilities about the numbers and characteristics of the chimpanzees at  each facility, as well as their research and retirement status. We  interviewed officials from NIH and the four facilities to clarify the data and  discern how the data were collected, and on that basis determined that  the data were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of our reporting  objectives. To obtain contextual information about the characteristics of  the NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees, as well as the physical  environments that house them, we conducted site visits to all four  facilities.
To examine the costs to care for and transfer NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees, we collected and analyzed relevant NIH and  facility documents, including documents associated with the facilities’  grants and contracts and associated NIH payments to each facility for the  care of chimpanzees for federal fiscal year 2013 through first quarter  2016. We chose this period because these were the years for which the  most recent complete data were available. The contract and grant award  years for each facility varied with each other and did not align with the  federal fiscal year (October 1 through September 30). To enable  comparisons across the four facilities, we calculated the costs per- chimpanzee per-day for each facility by federal fiscal year. Specifically,  we first allocated grant award amounts, contract award amounts, or  contract invoices associated with chimpanzee care over each year of the  respective grant or contract and recalculated these amounts to align with  federal fiscal years. We also determined the total number of days of care  provided to each chimpanzee within each federal fiscal year, taking into  account dates of chimpanzee deaths and transfers either into or out of the  facility, and calculated a total number of days of care within each federal  fiscal year across all chimpanzees at each facility. We then divided the  total dollar amount associated with each federal fiscal year by the total  number of days of chimpanzee care associated with each fiscal year. We  also obtained data on costs incurred for the transportation of  chimpanzees during this same period of time. We interviewed officials  from NIH and the four facilities to clarify the cost data and determine  NIH’s process for collecting and verifying the accuracy and reliability of  the data. We determined that the data collected were sufficiently reliable  for the purpose of our reporting objectives.
To evaluate potential cost savings associated with NIH’s goal to transfer  its chimpanzees to Chimp Haven, we reviewed applicable laws,  regulations, and agency documents, such as NIH’s 2014 report to  Congress, which discussed cost savings approaches taken by NIH and  the facilities, as well as other relevant reports, such as the Institute of  Medicine (IOM) report on the use of chimpanzees in scientific research.  We interviewed the following: officials from NIH about the institute’s cost  savings approaches and efforts undertaken or considered to consolidate  facilities to achieve savings from improved economies of scale; officials  from the four facilities to determine the extent that NIH has communicated  its cost savings goals to determine whether NIH’s goals were consistently  reported; and an expert on the captive chimpanzee population to gain an  understanding of the life expectancy of captive chimpanzees and other  factors related to their care. We evaluated NIH’s plan to ultimately  transfer all of its owned or supported chimpanzees to Chimp Haven  against relevant federal internal control standards.
We conducted this performance audit from May 2015 through March  2016 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
subsections: section_title: Overview of Chimpanzees’ Use in Federal Research Studies
paragraphs: Due to their genetic proximity to humans, chimpanzees have historically  been used in invasive biomedical research projects that study the  immune responses in chimpanzees chronically infected with hepatitis  virus, HIV, malaria, or with other medical conditions. However, new  methods and technologies developed by the biomedical research  community have provided alternatives to the use of chimpanzees in  several areas of research, and, as a result, the use of chimpanzees in  invasive biomedical research declined. In December 2011, the IOM  issued a report that concluded that the use of chimpanzees in most  biomedical research of human diseases was unnecessary because other  experimental models have been developed and some studies can now be  done using humans. Subsequently, NIH issued an interim policy  suspending support of new research projects using chimpanzees while  the agency considered the IOM report. NIH announced, in June 2013,  that the majority of its owned chimpanzees would be permanently retired  from invasive biomedical research and moved to the federal sanctuary as  space became available, and that approximately 50 chimpanzees from  among those it owned or supported, would be maintained for such  research studies. However, after the June 2015 announcement by the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add captive chimpanzees to the Federal  List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, NIH announced, in  November 2015, that it no longer planned to maintain any chimpanzees  for invasive biomedical research. On February 2, 2016, NIH announced  that it would limit its future support for research on chimpanzees  consistent with the restrictions imposed on the federal chimpanzee  retirement sanctuary.
section_title: Caring for Chimpanzees
paragraphs: NIH currently owns or supports chimpanzees at four facilities. These  facilities are:
Alamogordo Primate Facility (Alamogordo), which is located on the  Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, is operated by a for-profit  contractor (Charles River Laboratories), and houses chimpanzees  that are primarily descendants of the original research population  associated with the U.S. space program. This facility houses only  chimpanzees—no other types of primates—and, based on current  agreements in place, may not accept any new chimpanzees into its  facility.
Chimp Haven, the federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary in  Louisiana, is a privately owned facility operated by a not-for-profit  entity that provides lifetime care for retired chimpanzees. Under its  contract with HHS, the entity receives federal funds for its operations  but must also meet matching fund requirements. Chimpanzees that  are housed at this facility are considered retired from invasive  biomedical research.
Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and  Research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center  (Keeling) is a primate facility in Bastrop, Texas, that houses multiple  other types of primates in addition to chimpanzees and is part of an  academic facility that serves as both a center for biomedical research  and as a center for veterinarian training.
Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC), which is a  primate facility in San Antonio, Texas, houses multiple other types of  primates in addition to chimpanzees and is part of a biomedical  research facility—the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. It is the  only facility among the four that, in addition to NIH-owned  chimpanzees, houses NIH-supported chimpanzees. (For more  information on the four facilities, see appendixes II through V at the  end of this report.)
NIH requires the four facilities housing chimpanzees owned or supported  by NIH to comply with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care  and Use of Laboratory Animals, Eighth Edition. Specifically, the NIH  guidance requires the facilities to follow a framework for housing  chimpanzees that offers environmental enrichment and animal well-being.  For example, facilities are required to follow NIH recommendations on the  physical characteristics of space within the facilities, such as allowing  chimpanzees the opportunity to rotate into larger enclosures on a regular  basis and providing access to natural materials and the outdoors to  enhance their environmental complexity. Some examples of  environmental complexity could include access to the outdoors, grass,  mulch, and natural materials that provide climbing opportunities.
The CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013 authorized appropriations for NIH  to continue supporting chimpanzees in research facilities and at Chimp  Haven. In addition, NIH indicated in a federal register notice that,  although housing chimpanzees in larger groups has the potential to offer  greater social complexity and more environmental stimuli than housing  them in smaller groups, each facility has well-positioned, knowledgeable  staff (i.e., veterinarians and primate behaviorists) who are able to  determine a chimpanzee’s suitability for group or single housing.
Since 1995, when NIH stopped breeding its captive chimpanzees, the  number of NIH-owned and NIH-supported chimpanzees has been  decreasing, and the proportion of NIH-owned and NIH-supported  chimpanzees that are considered geriatric has increased. Captive  chimpanzees have an estimated life expectancy of about 40 years and  are considered geriatric at 35 years of age and older, with some captive  chimpanzees living more than 50 years.
Although the population is decreasing, as of January 15, 2016, NIH  owned or supported 561 chimpanzees and expects that it will continue to  own or support some portion of this population for twenty years or more.  See table 1 for information on the total number of NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees by facility, which changes over time as  chimpanzees die or are transferred to other facilities.
section_title: NIH Funding for the Care of Its Chimpanzees
paragraphs: NIH provides funding to all four facilities for the cost of care for the  chimpanzees it owns or supports. Based on provisions in the CHIMP Act  applicable to the federal sanctuary, Chimp Haven must match a portion of  the federal funds received under its contract for operating expenses (such  as expenses associated with the care of chimpanzees, including  expenses for veterinary and other staff, food, medicine, enrichment  activities, transportation, and associated overhead). Specifically, Chimp  Haven is required to match 1 dollar for every 3 dollars (or 25 percent) in  federal funds provided for operating expenses in cash or in kind. The  other three facilities have no matching funds requirements. NIH fully  funds the cost of the care for the chimpanzees that it owns at these  facilities. For the chimpanzees it supports but does not own—which are  located only at SNPRC—NIH contributes to the cost of their care. The  CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013 authorized appropriations to NIH  through fiscal year 2018 for the care, maintenance, and transportation of  chimpanzees that NIH owns or supports. (See table 2.)
section_title: NIH-Owned and NIH- Supported Chimpanzees Are No Longer Used for Invasive Biomedical Research, but Most Have Not Yet Retired to the Federal Sanctuary
paragraphs: No NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees are eligible for use in  invasive biomedical research. As a result of NIH’s recent decision to no  longer maintain a colony of chimpanzees for future invasive research,  none of the 561 chimpanzees it owned or supported as of January 15,  2016, were considered eligible for such research, and three of the  facilities reported that they had not used chimpanzees in invasive  research during the period of our review, consistent with NIH’s efforts to  phase out invasive biomedical research projects. However, all 561  chimpanzees were eligible for non-invasive research, even if retired to the  federal retirement sanctuary, Chimp Haven. Non-invasive research  studies include observational and behavioral studies and studies that  involve the use of blood or tissue samples that are obtained during the  course of regular medical care. Two of the four facilities—Chimp Haven  and Keeling—reported that they were currently conducting non-invasive  research with NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees. In addition,  SNPRC officials reported that they previously provided tissue samples  taken during the course of regular medical care to researchers for such  research, but no longer do so. While Alamogordo officials reported that no  research was currently underway involving chimpanzees at their facility,  they reported that non-invasive research had taken place at their facility in  recent years.
NIH officials said that all of the chimpanzees it owns or supports may  eventually be retired to Chimp Haven, though the timeframes are not yet  determined. While NIH no longer allows invasive biomedical research on  any of its owned or supported chimpanzees, according to NIH officials,  chimpanzees are not considered to be officially retired until physically  located at Chimp Haven. As a result, as of January 15, 2016, the 179  chimpanzees housed at Chimp Haven were considered to be retired, and  NIH considered the remaining NIH-owned chimpanzees housed at the  other facilities to be eligible for retirement to Chimp Haven as space  becomes available there. Of the 301 NIH-owned chimpanzees that were  eligible for retirement, 144 were housed at Alamogordo, 138 were housed  at Keeling, and 19 were housed at SNPRC. SNPRC also houses another  81 chimpanzees supported by NIH, and they potentially could be retired  to Chimp Haven if SNPRC opts to transfer ownership. See figure 1.
section_title: Costs to Care for and Transport Chimpanzees Varied over Time for a Variety of Reasons
subsections: section_title: NIH’s Per-Chimpanzee Per-Day Costs Varied over Time and among Facilities
paragraphs: Among the four facilities that currently house NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees, the average per-chimpanzee per-day costs  incurred by NIH for their care have generally been lowest at Chimp Haven  and highest at Alamogordo. The average per-chimpanzee per-day costs  that NIH incurred for care provided to chimpanzees during the time period  covering federal fiscal years 2013 through 2015 ranged from a low of $41  at Chimp Haven to a high of $61 at Alamogordo. During this same time  period, the average per-chimpanzee per-day costs that NIH incurred for  the care of chimpanzees at Keeling and SNPRC (including the combined  costs associated with both the NIH-owned and NIH-supported  chimpanzees at SNPRC) varied from year to year, but were similar to  each other—$47 and $49, respectively. In the first quarter of federal fiscal  year 2016, the per-chimpanzee per-day costs for care incurred by NIH  continued to be lowest at Chimp Haven ($42), and were similar at  Keeling, Alamogordo, and SNPRC ($52, $53, and $54, respectively). See  table 3.
Factors associated with the characteristics of each facility likely  contributed to the variation in the costs. For example, the generally lower  costs incurred by NIH for chimpanzee care at Chimp Haven compared to  the other three facilities were likely attributable to the requirement that  Chimp Haven match 1 dollar for every 3 dollars in federal funding for  operating expenses—a 25 percent matching requirement that Chimp  Haven met throughout the time period we analyzed. Because of these  matching requirements, while the actual average cost of care per- chimpanzee per-day on average at Chimp Haven during the time period  we analyzed was about $55, the share of those costs incurred by NIH  was about $41 per-chimpanzee per-day. In contrast to Chimp Haven, NIH  fully funded the reported costs or grant awards for chimpanzee care at  the other three facilities. In addition, costs may have been lower at the  two large primate research facilities, Keeling and SNPRC, compared to  Alamogordo because they were likely able to realize economies of scale  associated with the sharing of staff and resources with their larger primate  programs—officials from both facilities reported that they shared staff and  resources in this way. Alamogordo, which only houses chimpanzees,  does not have the ability to share resources in this way. However,  Alamogordo had notably reduced costs between federal fiscal years 2014  and 2015. Alamogordo officials reported that they were able to do this by  taking a number of cost-cutting measures. For example, they reduced  staff and associated overhead, made changes to payroll, accounting, and  information technology functions, and switched from brand name to  generic drugs whenever possible. Through these efforts, costs per- chimpanzee per-day were reduced by more than $6.00.
At SNPRC costs incurred by NIH varied widely for the NIH-owned  compared to the NIH-supported chimpanzees. Of the 100 chimpanzees at  SNPRC as of the end of the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2016, NIH  owned only 19, and funding for the care of these chimpanzees was  provided through a cooperative agreement, which could only be used to  fund the care of its NIH-owned chimpanzees. The other 81 chimpanzees  were owned by SNPRC, not NIH, but NIH provided some financial  support for those chimpanzees through a different grant—a grant which  provided funding for SNPRC’s larger primate program and out of which a  portion was used to support some of the care of chimpanzees. Based on  an analysis of these two different funding sources, we found that the per- chimpanzee per-day costs incurred by NIH were significantly higher for  the NIH-owned chimpanzees at this facility compared to those that were  supported by NIH. For example, the average cost per-chimpanzee per- day during the time period covering federal fiscal years 2013 through  2015 was $78 for the NIH-owned chimpanzees and $42 for the NIH- supported chimpanzees. According to SNPRC officials, NIH-incurred  costs for the NIH-supported chimpanzees are lower at their facility  because the grant covering these chimpanzees is designed to be  supplemented by other research funds. Differences in costs per- chimpanzee per-day for NIH-owned compared to NIH-supported  chimpanzees continued in the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2016,  where they were $81 and $47, respectively. (See table 4.)
section_title: NIH Has Incurred Costs Associated with Transporting Chimpanzees
paragraphs: Since the beginning of federal fiscal year 2013, NIH has incurred costs  associated with transporting 121 chimpanzees, all from other facilities to  Chimp Haven. According to officials from Chimp Haven, the costs for  transporting chimpanzees from one facility to another varied depending  on factors such as the number of chimpanzees being transported  (typically ranging from between 4 and 8 chimpanzees) and the distance of  the transport. Consistent with statutory matching requirements for  transports made to Chimp Haven, NIH paid for 75 percent of the cost of  transportation and Chimp Haven covered the remaining 25 percent. The  total cost to transport the 121 chimpanzees was $66,346, for an average  of about $548 per transported chimpanzee. Of that, NIH paid $49,760, for  an average of about $411 per transported chimpanzee.
section_title: NIH’s Goal to Consolidate Chimpanzee Population to Chimp Haven Should Result in Savings, but the Lack of Long-Term Planning Could Diminish Potential Savings
subsections: section_title: NIH’s Goal to Consolidate Chimpanzees to Chimp Haven Should Result in Cost Savings
paragraphs: Because the costs incurred by NIH to care for its owned or supported  chimpanzees have generally been lowest at Chimp Haven compared to  the costs at the other three facilities that house them, NIH’s goal to  transfer its chimpanzees to Chimp Haven should result in cost savings for  NIH. Further, economies of scale can be achieved by increasing the  number of chimpanzees at Chimp Haven and thereby presenting  opportunities for cost savings. According to Chimp Haven officials,  economies of scale can be achieved when some fixed costs—such as the  costs for the upkeep of the facilities that house chimpanzees, staffing  experts to care for the chimpanzees, and other costs related to the care  and enrichment of the animals—can be applied to large numbers of  chimpanzees. In addition, the chimpanzee housing at Chimp Haven— which includes large corral habitats and open-air habitats that require less  maintenance than caged facilities and can accommodate larger  chimpanzee social groups than the housing available at the other  facilities—can facilitate cost efficiencies. As a result, once Chimp Haven  is at full capacity, which would currently allow it to house up to 229 NIH- owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees, the costs incurred by NIH to care  for chimpanzees there will likely be lower than costs incurred in recent  years.
NIH officials reported that, in the short-term, they plan to transfer to  Chimp Haven all 19 NIH-owned chimpanzees from SNPRC. After these  chimpanzees are transferred, 363 NIH-owned or NIH-supported  chimpanzees would continue to be housed outside of Chimp Haven. The  transfer of these 19 chimpanzees in particular should result in cost  savings to NIH in the short-term because during the timeframe of our  analysis—federal fiscal year 2013 through the first quarter of federal fiscal  year 2016—the costs incurred by NIH to care for the NIH-owned  chimpanzees at SNPRC were consistently the highest compared to the  costs incurred for any other NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees  and were nearly twice as high as the costs incurred by NIH for the care of  chimpanzees at Chimp Haven. Based on the most recent per- chimpanzee per-day costs, on an annualized basis, NIH should save  about $270,000 within one year as a result of the transfer of these 19  chimpanzees to Chimp Haven. NIH will incur some costs associated  with transporting these 19 chimpanzees to Chimp Haven; however, the  savings associated with the lower costs per-chimpanzee per-day will  outweigh these transportation costs over time. For example, if the costs  NIH incurs for transporting these chimpanzees is similar to the costs it  incurred for recent transports ($411 per chimpanzee), then total NIH- incurred costs for the transport of the 19 chimpanzees would be about  $8,000. Even if the costs for transferring these 19 chimpanzees should  exceed the average of recent transfers, the transfer costs would be less  than the estimated annualized savings of $270,000.
NIH officials reported that the relocation of chimpanzees to Chimp Haven  will occur when space becomes available and within a timeframe that  allows for the optimal transition of each individual chimpanzee. NIH’s  general framework for longer-term plans will prioritize the transfer of NIH- owned chimpanzees ahead of the transfer of NIH-supported  chimpanzees. Of the 363 chimpanzees that would continue to be housed  outside of Chimp Haven after the transfer of the 19 chimpanzees from  SNPRC, there would be 282 NIH-owned chimpanzees, all housed at  Keeling and Alamogordo, and 81 NIH-supported chimpanzees, all housed  at SNPRC. Given this, longer-term plans would focus first on transfers of  those 282 chimpanzees and later on the 81 NIH-supported chimpanzees  that continue to be housed at SNPRC. NIH officials reported that among  the 282, it plans to first focus on transferring the 138 chimpanzees  currently housed at Keeling and then focus on transferring the 144 at  Alamogordo. Transferring chimpanzees from either of these two facilities  to Chimp Haven should result in some reductions in NIH’s costs because  the costs incurred by NIH are higher at these two facilities compared to  Chimp Haven.
section_title: NIH Has Not Fully Developed or Communicated a Clear Long-Term Implementation Plan, Diminishing the Potential Savings That Could be Achieved through Consolidation Efforts
paragraphs: While NIH has informed the facilities of its plan to transfer 19  chimpanzees in the near future, it has not finalized or communicated  details on the timing of this transfer, and it has not developed or  communicated a clear long-term implementation plan for transporting the  remaining chimpanzees that would continue to be housed outside of  Chimp Haven. According to agency officials, it has not developed such a  plan, in part because of uncertainties about the available space at Chimp  Haven. However, as discussed below, information on space availability  in the near and long term is available and could be used and updated as  needed to help inform planning.
In the absence of this long-term plan, the four facilities that house NIH- owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees do not have the information they  need to plan for the care of the NIH-owned or NIH-supported  chimpanzees in a cost-effective way that also considers the timing of  chimpanzee transfers as well as the welfare needs of the chimpanzee  population. For example, staffing needs at each facility are influenced by  the number of chimpanzees for which care is provided. If facility officials  have an estimate of the number of chimpanzees that are expected to be  transferred into or out of their facility within a given timeframe, they can  then plan for appropriate increases or decreases in staffing levels.
In addition, absent a more clear long-term implementation plan, NIH may  not have the information it needs to appropriately plan transfers and avoid  costs associated with poor planning. For example, over the past several  years, as directed by NIH, facilities have spent funds on preparations for  transfers of chimpanzees that were ultimately canceled. Specifically, in  2012 SNPRC spent funds to prepare its facility to receive 110  chimpanzees from the New Iberia Research Center, but NIH officials later  decided to cancel that transfer. Similarly, in 2015 Chimp Haven spent  funds to arrange for the transport of 6 chimpanzees from Alamogordo, but  NIH decided to cancel that transfer on the day the transfer was to take  place. NIH incurred costs associated with both of these canceled  transfers. Because NIH pays for the care of chimpanzees at these  facilities and for costs associated with transfers, the effectiveness of the  facilities’ and NIH’s planning will affect the costs incurred by NIH.  Moreover, the absence of this plan is inconsistent with federal internal  control standards that call for the effective internal and external  communication of the quality information necessary to help an entity  achieve its objectives.
Important considerations in developing a long-term plan to consolidate  chimps at Chimp Haven include available space, costs, and chimpanzee  welfare considerations. Information is available on these considerations  from the four facilities and their staff.
subsections: section_title: Consideration of Available Space at Chimp Haven
paragraphs: NIH has information it can use to develop reasonable estimates for the  number of chimpanzees that can be transferred to Chimp Haven within  the next 5 years. Specifically, NIH officials told us that they are aware that  Chimp Haven does not yet have the space available to accommodate all  of NIH’s owned or supported chimpanzees (561 as of January 15, 2016).  According to Chimp Haven officials, as of January 15, 2016, Chimp  Haven had capacity to house up to 50 chimpanzees in addition to the 179  NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees it was housing at that time.  This means that as of that date the number of NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees exceeded Chimp Haven’s capacity by 332  chimpanzees. See table 5.
Chimp Haven officials reported that, absent a facility expansion, they  anticipate that space to take in more chimpanzees will become available  only as Chimp Haven’s chimpanzee population declines due to deaths.  These officials also reported that, based on anticipated mortality of NIH- owned and NIH-supported chimpanzees currently housed at other  facilities, they expect that some will never be transferred to Chimp Haven  because many of these chimpanzees are geriatric and may die before the  transfers can be accommodated. Based on the expected rate of death  among captive chimpanzees (five to ten percent each year), between  about 127 and 230 chimpanzee deaths out of the 561 chimpanzees  owned or supported by NIH as of January 15, 2016, could be anticipated  within the next five years. Taking into account Chimp Haven’s current  capacity to house NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees (229) and  anticipated deaths among all NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees  (127 to 230), estimates could be developed for the number of  chimpanzees that could be accommodated there within the next five  years and updated as actual information on space availability becomes  known. For example, assuming no changes to Chimp Haven’s capacity  and that all available space there could be used for NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees, within the next five years it could be anticipated  that between 177 and 280 of the 382 chimpanzees that were housed at  other facilities on January 15, 2016, would have either been transported  to Chimp Haven or no longer need to be accommodated at Chimp Haven,  and that between 102 and 205 chimpanzees would continue to be  awaiting space at Chimp Haven.
In addition, Chimp Haven’s capacity to house more chimpanzees may  increase during this time period. Specifically, in 2016, Chimp Haven plans  to launch a capital campaign to raise funds to build four new habitats  which—assuming the fundraising goals are met—would become  operational sometime after 2017. After the construction of these four  habitats, officials expect to accommodate between an additional 100 to  150 chimpanzees. NIH can monitor the progress on this planned  expansion and adjust its plans for future chimpanzee transfers  accordingly.
section_title: Consideration of Costs
paragraphs: Information about the costs incurred by NIH for the care of chimpanzees  at Alamogordo, Keeling, and SNPRC and the potential longer-term costs  associated with the care of chimpanzees at each of these facilities can  also inform NIH’s longer-term planning regarding the transfer of  chimpanzees to Chimp Haven. For example, based on NIH’s general plan  to focus first on the transfer of NIH-owned rather than NIH-supported  chimpanzees, and its plan to first transfer the 19 NIH-owned  chimpanzees that are housed at SNPRC, NIH can consider the  differences in the costs it has historically incurred to care for the  chimpanzees at the two facilities that will continue to house NIH-owned  chimpanzees—Alamogordo and Keeling. NIH can also consider  information about the ability for each of the facilities to financially manage  the care for the declining numbers of chimpanzees it houses. For  example, as the chimpanzee populations decline, the facilities may incur  higher per-chimpanzee per-day costs due to a loss of economies of scale.  Keeling and SNPRC may be better able to manage the costs of a  declining chimpanzee population because they can allocate resources  across their larger primate programs in a way that Alamogordo cannot.  According to Keeling and SNPRC officials, they can reduce costs  associated with their chimpanzee programs as the facilities’ chimpanzee  populations decline because they can reallocate staff, facilities, and other  overhead to other parts of their larger primate programs. In contrast, while  officials at Alamogordo reported that they took steps in recent years to  reduce costs at their facility, their ability to reduce costs even further as its  chimpanzee population continues to decline is limited. For example,  according to facility officials, they can make some staff reductions over  time as their chimpanzee population continues to decline. However,  regardless of the number of chimpanzees housed there, they will always  need at least two veterinarians on staff, even if this includes part-time  staff, because one veterinarian is required to be on call at all times. In  addition, Alamogordo officials reported that some costs associated with  the maintenance of the facility are relatively fixed.
section_title: Consideration of Chimpanzee Welfare
paragraphs: Welfare considerations of the chimpanzees that are transported to Chimp  Haven, including the transfer of existing intact social groups and of  chimpanzees that would be expected to survive the relocation, might also  influence NIH’s longer-term planning for the Chimpanzee Management  Program. Officials from NIH and each of the facilities reported that the  maintenance of chimpanzee social groups is important for their well- being, and all noted that transfers to Chimp Haven should be planned in  ways that try to maintain these social groups. In addition, experts note  that chimpanzees generally are better off in larger socials groups, and  NIH’s guidelines on the standards of care for chimpanzees recommend  the development of larger social groups. Based on these considerations,  NIH’s longer-term plans may take into consideration prioritizing the  transfer of chimpanzees that are well-suited for integration into these  larger social groups   Officials also reported that transporting any chimpanzee to a new facility  and a new social environment causes stress on the chimpanzee, and that  certain chimpanzees, such as those that are very old or very sick, may be  less able to survive a transfer. Because there are costs incurred in  transporting chimpanzees, in addition to animal welfare considerations,  transferring chimpanzees that ultimately may not survive for long after the  transfer could result in unnecessarily incurred costs. Therefore,  identifying and transferring groups of chimpanzees that would most likely  live for a number of years after their transitions could reduce transfer  costs overall. For example, NIH might ultimately reduce costs by focusing  first on transferring groups that include younger and healthier  chimpanzees. Facility officials may be in a good position to help NIH  identify ideal groups for transfer, as NIH already relies on facility staff to  make appropriate decisions about creating chimpanzee social groups  within their facilities. Moreover, facility officials told us that they consider  their chimpanzees’ welfare when establishing these social groups, taking  into account factors such as health status and age. For example, all four  facilities segregate chimpanzees that are infected with either HIV or a  form of hepatitis from all other chimpanzees, and some take steps to  segregate older chimpanzees from younger chimpanzees. (See  appendixes II – V for statistics on age and health status of chimpanzees  at each facility.) In addition, some facility officials reported that they have  taken steps to make sure certain long-standing social groups remain  intact as they reconfigured their facilities to accommodate decreasing  chimpanzee populations.
Despite the stresses associated with transferring chimpanzees, Chimp  Haven officials reported that the facility has successfully incorporated  hundreds of chimpanzees over the years, including older chimpanzees,  and they said they take steps to alleviate the stress of the moves on the  chimpanzees. For example, chimpanzees are not moved during extreme  cold or hot weather, chimpanzees are kept within existing social groups  and only introduced into larger social groups when conditions are ideal,  and Chimp Haven veterinarians consult with veterinarians from the  facilities of origin to discuss any issues related to the care and treatment  of ailments.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: NIH needs to continue to identify ways to be cost effective in its  management of a declining chimpanzee population. NIH has established  the important goal of maintaining the welfare of its owned and supported  chimpanzees in a cost-effective manner and has stated that, as part of its  goal, it intends to transfer to Chimp Haven all of its owned then any  supported chimpanzees (for which title has been transferred) as space  there becomes available. However, it has not developed an  implementation plan for achieving this goal that is sufficiently clear and  transparent enough to support decision making and has not  communicated its plans to the facilities that currently house those  chimpanzees, inconsistent with federal internal control standards. While  there are still uncertainties about the long-term space availability at  Chimp Haven, NIH can use the information currently available related to  space, chimpanzee welfare, and costs for care to develop a clear  implementation plan for the transfer of its remaining chimpanzees to  Chimp Haven, a plan it could update or revise as appropriate. Because  knowledge about the anticipated transfers of chimpanzees into and out of  the four facilities that currently house NIH-owned and NIH-supported  chimpanzees will affect the ability for each of these facilities to manage  their costs, and because those costs are paid for in full or in part by NIH,  it is important for NIH to clearly communicate its plans with the facilities to  ensure that the facilities can take actions that will maximize cost-effective  planning for the care of these chimpanzees in the future.
section_title: Recommendation for Executive Action
paragraphs: To help NIH manage its Chimpanzee Management Program in a cost- effective manner, we recommend that the Secretary of Health and Human  Services direct the Director of NIH to develop and communicate a clear  implementation plan for meeting its long-term goal that is informed by  both costs and chimpanzee welfare, and that should be updated as  needed. For example, the plan could consider more precise estimates of  the volume and timing of transfers to assist the facilities in managing their  costs and could consider various aspects of the welfare of the  chimpanzees being transferred, such as their ability to survive a transfer  and remain or be placed in a compatible social group.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: In commenting on a draft of this report, HHS concurred with our  recommendation and stated that NIH is in the process of developing an  implementation plan based primarily on the well-being and safety of the  chimpanzees and secondarily on costs. HHS also noted that whether or  not the expansion of the federal sanctuary with private funds will occur  remains a major factor affecting the date when all of the chimpanzees can  be retired. HHS and the four facilities also provided technical comments,  which we incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to appropriate congressional  committees; the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and other  interested parties. We will also make copies available at no charge on  GAO’s website at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  me at (202) 512-7114 or dickenj@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices  of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last  page of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report  are listed in appendix VI.
section_title: Appendix I: Chimpanzee Enclosures at Facilities That House NIH-Owned or NIH- Supported Chimpanzees
paragraphs: National Institutes of Health (NIH)-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees  are housed in various types of environments based on the available  space of each of the four facilities that house them. These include multi- acre habitats, corral habitats, primadomes, and other caged enclosures.  All include outdoor space and allow 24-hour, 7-day a week access to  indoor facilities for protection from harsh weather conditions.  Chimpanzees are combined into social groups that vary in size. Currently,  the size of social groups at facilities that house NIH-owned or NIH- supported chimpanzees ranges from between 2 and 23. Images of some  of the housing environments are included below.
subsections: section_title: Multi-Acre Habitats
paragraphs: Currently, multi-acre, open-air wooded habitats that house NIH-owned or  NIH-supported chimpanzees range in size from three to five acres and  have the capacity for larger groups of between 25 and 50 chimpanzees.  They are surrounded by a combination of walls, fences, and moats to  contain the chimpanzees within the habitat and provide access to indoor  enclosures.
section_title: Corral Habitats
paragraphs: Smaller than multi-acre habitats, corral habitats are fenced open areas  that include a variety of climbing structures. Corral habitats generally  have capacity for about 10 or more chimpanzees.
section_title: Primadomes
paragraphs: Primadomes are geodesic domes that are typically around 34 feet in  diameter. They are designed for smaller groups of chimpanzees  compared to multi-acre or corral habitats (up to 8 chimpanzees) and allow  them to climb in a fully enclosed caged environment that includes  materials such as grass.
section_title: Other Caged Facilities
paragraphs: In addition to primadomes, other types of caged facilities of varying sizes  are used to house NIH-owned or NIH-supported chimpanzees.
section_title: Appendix II: Characteristics of the Alamogordo Primate Facility
paragraphs: Overview: Alamogordo Primate Facility (Alamogordo) is a former  research facility located at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The  chimpanzees located at this facility are primarily descendants of  chimpanzees that were part of the original research population associated  with the space program. NIH funding for the care of chimpanzees at  Alamogordo is made through a contract currently held by Charles River  Laboratories and has no matching requirements.
Types of chimpanzee housing: Alamogordo has 10,792 square feet of  indoor space and 20,348 square feet of outdoor space and has three  types of structures for its chimpanzees: primadomes and two other types  of caged enclosures all connected to indoor enclosures.
Facility-specific notes about housing: Alamogordo segregates its  chimpanzees by sex and infection status. Its social group sizes range  from 2 to 12 chimpanzees.
section_title: Appendix III: Characteristics of the Chimp Haven Federal Chimpanzee Retirement Sanctuary
paragraphs: Overview: Chimp Haven is the federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary  and is located in Louisiana. NIH funding for the care of chimpanzees at  Chimp Haven is made through a contract with matching requirements—it  must match 1 dollar for every 3 dollars for operating expenses.
Types of chimpanzee housing: Chimp Haven is built on 200 acres of  outdoor space and has four types of chimpanzee housing, including:  multi-acre outdoor habitats, enclosures, corral habitats, and two types of  caged enclosures—all connected to indoor enclosures.
Facility-specific notes about housing: Chimp Haven segregates its  chimpanzees by infection status. Its social group sizes range from 3 to 23  chimpanzees.
section_title: Appendix IV: Characteristics of the Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research
paragraphs: Overview: Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and  Research (Keeling) is part of the University of Texas MD Anderson  Cancer Center in Bastrop, Texas. Its mission is to eliminate cancer and  allied diseases. NIH funding for the care of chimpanzees owned and  supported by NIH at Keeling is made through grants with no matching  requirements.
Types of chimpanzee housing: Keeling has 16,309 square feet of indoor  chimpanzee housing and 54,999 square feet of outdoor housing. Outdoor  housing facilities include corral habitats and primadomes, which are all  connected to indoor housing.
Facility-specific notes about housing: According to officials, Keeling’s  chimpanzee management plan calls for separation of social groups  according to infection status. Its social group sizes range from 2 to 10  chimpanzees.
section_title: Appendix V: Characteristics of the Southwest National Primate Research Center
paragraphs: Overview: Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) of the  Texas Biomedical Research Institute is a research facility in San Antonio,  Texas, that conducts basic and applied research in the biomedical and  behavioral sciences. Its research is focused on many human diseases  including cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases such as  hepatitis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). NIH funding  for the care of chimpanzees owned and supported by NIH at SNPRC is  made through grants with no matching requirements.
Types of chimpanzee housing: SNPRC has various types of caged  housing units for chimpanzees including primadomes and other types of  caged enclosures.
Facility-specific notes about housing: SNPRC segregates its  chimpanzees by infection status. Its social group sizes currently range  from 2 to 6 chimpanzees.
section_title: Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services
section_title: Appendix VII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact:
section_title: Staff Acknowledgements
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, individuals making key  contributions to this report include Gerardine Brennan, Assistant Director;  Lori Fritz; Matt Gever; Keith Haddock; Carolina Morgan; Laurie Pachter;  and Jennifer Whitworth.