NEW IBERIA RESEARCH CENTER

The New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) is operated by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. NIRC holds the largest chimpanzee colony, 347 chimpanzees as of October 2011. 153 of the chimpanzees at NIRC are federally owned and as of 2013, 111 have begun their journey to retirement at Chimp Haven. In 2009, HSUS conducted an undercover investigation at NIRC that revealed dreadful conditions for many of the primates there. In 2016, an agreement was reached to move the privately owned NIRC chimpanzees to Project Chimps.

Summer 2015 UPDATE:  There are 225 chimpanzees at NIRC.  

Fall 2018 UPDATE:  Chimpanzees have been retiring to Project Chimps, to date 49 chimpanzees have left NIRC and moved to Project Chimps.

Fall 2019 UPDATE:  There are 147 chimpanzees at NIRC.

Summer 2020 UPDATE:  There are 115 chimpanzees at NIRC.