Victory! NIH to Retire Vast Majority of its Chimpanzees Plus One Action

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SOURCE PROJECT R&R

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a heavily anticipated decision today (6/28) to retire nearly 90% of its chimpanzees. However, NEAVS believes its decision to keep a “reserve” population of up to 50 for “future potential research” is unscientific and unnecessary.

“Though we praise NIH’s decision to retire most of its chimpanzees, the decision to keep a reserve population flies in the face of scientific evidence establishing how chimpanzees have not been, are not, and would not be needed,” says New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) President Theodora Capaldo, EdD.

After lengthy study and testimony from scientists and government officials, the nation’s highest scientific body, the Institute of Medicine, declared in 2011 that chimpanzees are not necessary in current medical research; that “the present trajectory of scientific research indicates a decreasing need for the use of chimpanzees”; and acknowledged “past use fails to predict future necessity.”

“More and more researchers are acknowledging the limitations and dangers of the animal model, in particular the waste of lives, time, and dollars using chimpanzees has been,” says Capaldo. “Pointing to a minuscule number of advances in areas for which they are no longer needed – stemming from such a vast amount of resources and chimpanzee suffering – and using this as justification for claiming there may someday be a future need for chimpanzees, is an argument without scientific merit.”

NIH’s decision, which will retire hundreds of chimpanzees, is a milestone in NEAVS’ Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories, a campaign to end all use of chimpanzees in U.S. research begun in 2004. Today, we celebrate with the chimpanzees and all the other animal protection organizations, sanctuaries, and individuals who helped make this possible. Soon hundreds more chimpanzees will live the rest of their lives without threat of invasive research.

NEAVS is now committed to making certain none of the chimpanzees held in reserve will ever be used in invasive research and that all privately owned chimpanzees still in labs are also retired.

NEAVS WANTS TO THANK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR SUPPORTERS AND DONORS FOR HELPING TO ACCOMPLISH THIS PRECEDENT-SETTING VICTORY FOR NOT ONLY CHIMPANZEES, BUT FOR ALL ANIMALS IN LABS.

Please watch for our eALERTS and updates on our website over the next several weeks and months for more specific information about this exciting news and for how you can help.


ACTION ALERT

Protect All Chimpanzees Under the Endangered Species Act | Source IDA

BACKGROUND

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to extend protection to captive chimpanzees under the Endangered Species Act. Presently, captive chimpanzees in the U.S. are exempt from this protection, but the new proposal would end that distinction.

The proposal would extend protection to chimpanzees in biomedical research as well as those in zoos. With its prohibition on the sale of chimpanzees across state lines, and ban on international commerce, it will likely also impact the sale of chimpanzees as pets and for use in entertainment.

We believe that all chimpanzees deserve to be protected. Since the start of the 20th century, more than one million chimpanzees have disappeared from the wild. Today, with less than 300,000 remaining, they continue to face challenges from disappearing habitat and the cruel bush meat trade.

Adoption of the proposal by FWS would mean that institutions conducting medical research would have to obtain permits before they could conduct invasive chimpanzee experiments, and any proposed experiment would have to provide proof that it contributes to the survival of chimps in the wild.

WHOM TO CONTACT

The public has the opportunity to comment on the proposed ruling by clicking here and submitting your comments in support of listing captive chimpanzees as endangered.

Feel free to submit your own comments in support of protecting captive chimpanzees, or cut and paste the below message into the Comment field.

Please remember that only the comment field is required; you do not have to provide your name, email, or address if you do not wish.


SAMPLE COMMENT

Thank you for allowing the public to comment on the proposed regulation to extend the Endangered Species Act to cover captive chimpanzees as well as those in the wild. Chimpanzees are disappearing and in danger of extinction. Exempting captive chimpanzees is unsupportable. Please end the split-listing of chimpanzees and extend protection to all chimpanzees.

yes we are thrilled
that 90% of you will be free
but the other 10 %,
retired they should
also be.
so until the day that
none of you are tormented,
we stand up for you all
by our commitment,
you are represented!

dedicated to all chimps, everywhere♥

Karen Lyons Kalmenson