Dr. Ken Levy, Associate Professor of Law at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, recently submitted a comment to the board of the University of Louisiana System—of which the New Iberia Research Center is a part—urging the release of chimpanzees Hercules and Leo to Save the Chimps sanctuary.
In the comment, Dr. Levy makes clear that what Hercules and Leo endured while on lease to Stony Brook University constitutes torture. He also criticizes the New Iberia Research Center (where Hercules and Leo are currently being held) for having “stealthily colluded with Stony Brook University to transport Hercules and Leo out of New York jurisdiction and back to Louisiana” while the NhRP’s appeal in their case was still pending and for having “stubbornly and callously refused” STC’s generous offer to cover the costs of their care at their sanctuary for the rest of their lives (estimated at over $2,000,000).
“As members of a species that is exceptionally intelligent – cognitively, socially, and emotionally – and critically endangered,” Dr. Levy writes, “Hercules and Leo should not be treated like “things” that are exploited for trivial research. They deserve much better. So please urge University of Louisiana System President Savoie to do the right thing – both morally and financially – and move Hercules and Leo to Save the Chimps.”
Thank you, Dr. Levy, for your support for Hercules and Leo and for working to get the LSU board to put their continued imprisonment on its agenda.
To read Dr. Levy’s comment in its entirety, see below. To view and download it as a PDF, click here. To view the video message by Dr. Jane Goodall cited in the comment, click here. For the Times-Picayune‘s story on Hercules and Leo, click here. To join our Call to Action on behalf of Hercules and Leo, click here.