New Iberia Research Center (NIRC)
New Iberia, Louisiana

Facility Type: Lab.

Number of chimpanzees: 320

Facility Website: http://nirc.louisiana.edu 

NIRC operates under the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and has the largest captive population of chimpanzees in the country. It is unclear exactly what the chimpanzees are used for at the facility, but the "current research" as listed on the National Center for Research Resources states it works on "vaccine development and testing; and drug testing, including: pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, preclinical safety, and efficacy studies."

The HSUS carried out a nine-month undercover investigation of NIRC in 2008. The results of the investigation were released in March 2009 and can be found at http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/animals_in_research_news/undercover_investigation_reveals_chimpanzee_abuse.html