US Endangered Species Act Proposal Could End Most Primate Research

by James Gorman / New York Times

releasechimps.org

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Tuesday to bring captive chimpanzees under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, a move that would create one more major barrier to conducting invasive medical research on the animals for human diseases.

If the proposal is enacted, permits will be required for any experiment that harms chimps, and both public and privately financed researchers will have to show that the experiment contributes to the survival of chimps that remain in the wild. The recommendation is now open to public comment for 60 days.

Tortured HIV Lab Chimps Released After 30 Years of Testing

Chimps emerge from facility, Gut Aiderbichl Animal Sanctuary, near Salzburg, Austria

Like prisoners emerging from a lifetime behind bars, a group of chimpanzees step blinking into the sunlight with what appears for all the world to be a wave and a smile.

And they have much to be joyful about. For this is the first time they have felt grass under their feet and breathed fresh air for 30 years.

Though a few of the chimps were born in captivity, most were kidnapped from African jungles as babies and flown to Europe, where they were locked in metal laboratory cages to be used in a long series of experiments. The chimpanzees were taken from their mothers shortly after their births and brought to a research facility in Austria. Horrifyingly, their mothers – who would usually raise them for six years – were all slaughtered.

Scientists kept the animals in isolation and gave them HIV and hepatitis. Their ordeal finally ended in 1997 when the pharmaceutical company behind the research was sold.

The outing marked the end of a 14-year bid to re-integrate the 38 primates after they spent most of their lives cooped up inside.

To read more on the coverage:
Sun Article – With Video
DailyMail Article – With Video