The CHIMP Act Amendments of 2013 authorized appropriations for NIH  to continue supporting chimpanzees in research facilities and at Chimp  Haven. NIH-Owned and NIH- Supported Chimpanzees Are No Longer Used for Invasive Biomedical Research, but Most Have Not Yet Retired to the Federal Sanctuary

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. 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. 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. Factors associated with the characteristics of each facility likely  contributed to the variation in the costs. 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

		NIH’s Goal to Consolidate Chimpanzees to Chimp Haven Should Result in Cost Savings

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. NIH officials reported that, in the short-term, they plan to transfer to  Chimp Haven all 19 NIH-owned chimpanzees from SNPRC. NIH Has Not Fully Developed or Communicated a Clear Long-Term Implementation Plan, Diminishing the Potential Savings That Could be Achieved through Consolidation Efforts

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Appendix III: Characteristics of the Chimp Haven Federal Chimpanzee Retirement Sanctuary

Overview: Chimp Haven is the federal chimpanzee retirement sanctuary  and is located in Louisiana.
Why GAO Did This Study

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.

What GAO Found

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.

What GAO Recommends

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.