Chimpanzees once used in hepatitis B experiments receive care in Liberia

The chimpanzees underwent dental cleanings, X-rays and pedicures at the Second Chance Chimpanzee Refuge in central Liberia. The health checks, carried out under anesthesia, gave veterinarians a chance to examine each animal from head to toe and adjust care as the chimpanzees age.

The tests included dental examinations, heart, lung and nervous system assessments, blood tests and booster vaccinations. Staff also trimmed the animals’ fingernails, and the sanctuary plans to examine the remaining chimpanzees.

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They were used in very invasive research ... (and) went through a lot of experiments and pain.

More than 400 chimpanzees were used by American researchers in hepatitis B vaccine experiments in Liberia from the 1970s through the early 2000s, sanctuary director Liliana Pacheco Ricote told The Associated Press. Many had been captured in the wild as infants and taken to laboratories.

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The health checks are a vital part of caring for these chimpanzees who have been through so much.

Humane World for Animals said it assumed permanent responsibility in 2015 for the 60 chimpanzees still alive when the research program ended. The animals now mostly live on mangrove-covered islands at the sanctuary. Liberia has the second-largest chimpanzee population in West Africa after Guinea, but the regional population has fallen sharply and the species is critically endangered.

The full impact of the experiments remains unclear because the assessments have not been finalized. Ricote said the animals’ pain could still be felt, adding that caring for them offered a second chance to live with dignity. “The health checks are a vital part of caring for these chimpanzees who have been through so much,” sanctuary veterinarian Belen Perez Hernando said.

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Seeing how much they hurt about what we’ve done, it gives me a lot of pleasure ... to give them this second chance to live with dignity the life that they deserve.