ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The National Institutes of Health has decided to move nearly two dozen retired research chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a sanctuary in Louisiana, a move celebrated Friday by animal advocates who have been fighting for years days to get the animals. moved.

NIH officials confirmed in an email that the transfer of the 23 chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico will take place in the coming months.

Staffing issues, including the planned retirement of chimpanzee keepers, prompted the decision to move the chimpanzees, the agency said. The animals have not been used as test subjects since 2015, when the NIH withdrew chimpanzees — humans’ closest relatives — from invasive research.

More than 200 were previously moved to the federally supported sanctuary, but the NIH said it was decided in 2019 that some were too fragile to be relocated because of their health. They remained at the base under the care of veterinarians and contracted caretakers.

The contractor informed the NIH that a significant number of personnel would be expected to retire by July 2025.

“Recruitment and training of new staff has proven difficult due to the specialized nature of the work and the remote location of the APF,” the NIH statement said. “Given this uncertainty, NIH has determined that the best course of action is for the well-being of all these chimpanzees. is to move them to the federal sanctuary at Chimp Haven.”

Agency spokeswoman Amanda Fine said rehoming chimpanzees is a complex, time-consuming process, and Chimp Haven will work with NIH and the Alamogordo facility to ensure the health and safety of each animal during the move.

The Humane Society of the United States is among the groups that have sent letters and petitioned the NIH over the years to move its last Alamogordo chimpanzee.

The Humane Society of the United States, Animal Protection New Mexico, the Humane Society Legislative Fund and others sued the NIH in 2021. A federal judge issued a ruling the following yearfinding that the NIH could not legally deny sanctuary retirement to chimpanzees because of their chronic health conditions.

“We believe that the tremendous pressure that was placed on the NIH to move them to Chimp Haven—including the engagement of thousands of advocates who called for the chimps to be relocated and our winning process—played a major role in the decision. to eventually move them to the sanctuary,” the group said.

The chimpanzees – aged between 34 and 62 – may have years before they enjoy life at the sanctuary, advocates said. The sanctuary has cared for hundreds of chimpanzees since the first two animals arrived there in 2005. That includes 214 that were sent there from NIH-supported facilities following the agency’s 2015 decision.

Chimp Haven President and CEO Rana Smith said Friday that the sanctuary is close to capacity and will need to build additional living spaces to house the chimps.

The expansion is expected to cost at least $4 million, which will need to be raised from private backers.

“There are many details to be determined in the coming weeks, but for now, we are celebrating this wonderful news for APF chimpanzees,” Smith said.

New Mexico was once home to a large colony of captive-bred chimpanzees, the animals first brought to the state to test space travel. The colony was later acquired by the Coulston Foundation and expanded for use with drug testing and infectious disease research.

Animal Protection New Mexico has been pushing for the freedom of the chimpanzees since the mid-1990s.

“These deserving chimpanzees have endured so much for so long, and their arrival in the sanctuary will represent the federal government honoring its obligation and commitment to their retirement,” said Elisabeth Jennings, the group’s executive director.