Medical chimps abandoned in the jungles of Liberia, left to starve and die

Sixty-six chimpanzees were abandoned after being used in medical experiments

Sixty-six chimpanzees were left in the deep jungles of Liberia after being used for medical experiments. Animal charities are seeking desperate help to save these animals.

MUNTINLUPA CITY, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - The animals were used on the controversial virus testing laboratory set up by the New York Blood Center (NYBC) in 1974.

Since the termination of the medical experiments back in 2005, the chimpanzees were left in the wild and are now living on six islets in the Liberian southern area. The chimpanzees currently survive through human support from animal welfare groups and volunteers. The project director of the medical research initially promised that they would provide "lifetime care" for the captured animals. The company is not currently in dispute with this.

A recent video featured one of the chimps hugging a volunteer - the chimp's current lifeline. The volunteers travel by boat to feed the animals.

Funding for the medical research was pulled last March, leaving the future of the chimpanzees in jeopardy. Currently, the chimps are being cared for by the Humane Society of the United States; they currently require $30,000 worth of donations to feed and care for the chimps monthly.

Over the past three decades, the New York Blood Center agreed with the Liberian government to establish the Vilab project deep in the jungle, 40-miles away from the capital of Monrovia. The chimpanzees were initially held in cages on the island, coined "Monkey Island," with little natural food available for the chimps and surrounded by undrinkable salt-water.

The NYBC, a known supplier of blood around 200 hospitals across the United States began trapping the wild animals and infecting them with diseases, like hepatitis and "river blindness," so that they could start developing vaccines. This was around the time the U.S. banned the import of wild chimps into the country.

Volunteers of the HSUS are now feeding the animals daily. John Abayomi Zeonyuway receives a chorus of cheering as his boat approaches towards the island.

"This is their way of saying that the food is here," John explained as he did a quick head count, "I can't see Samanta. Bullet is here - he's already eating. The chimps are part of me... They need help, they need attention. We cannot afford to lose these animals to hunger and sickness."

Letting the chimps out in the wild is not possible, because they have already become dependent on humans for food and they are infected with various diseases.

A crowdfunding campaign to raise $150,000 was launched to provide funds for the chimps for five months. More than $130,000 has already been raised for the chimps.

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