Local News in Brief : Chimp Case Evaluated

An investigation by the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation into alleged chimpanzee abuse on the movie “Project X” will be evaluated under civil, not criminal, statutes in determining whether any complaints should be filed, the district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Because so much time elapsed since the alleged beatings, the one-year statute of limitations on the most relevant criminal charges has passed, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald H. (Mike) Carroll said.

The movie, about a young Air Force pilot who saves a group of chimpanzees from a lethal experiment, was filmed on the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City from December, 1985, through May, 1986. Allegations that trainers beat chimps with blackjacks and otherwise abused them did not surface until shortly after the movie’s release in May, 1987.

In a related development, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner is considering a proposal to establish a department liaison to expedite prosecution of any future cases of animal abuse in the entertainment industry, a spokesman said.