A tranquilized chimpanzee is connected to a hemodialysis machine at LEMSIP in 1996, which used the animals in HIV and hepatitis B and C research. Fourteen of Wildlife Waystation’s 18 remaining chimps came from LEMSIP, which closed in 1997.
Photograph by Steve Winter
In the light of a heat lamp, a LEMSIP research technician waits for a pregnant chimpanzee to give birth.
Photograph by Steve Winter
As part of the lab’s enrichment program, staff showed movies. Chimps share much with humans: They react to sights, sounds, and music. Chimps used in medical research also suffer severe stress. “The costs of laboratory-caused trauma are immeasurable,” a 2008 study concluded. They leave a “life-long psychological impact.”
Photograph by Steve Winter
In the nursery kitchen, staff prepare snacks with peanut butter and sugary cereal.
Photograph by Steve Winter
Research technicians prepare a tranquilized chimp for HIV research. It eventually became clear that chimpanzees are poor proxies for humans for this disease.
Photograph by Steve Winter