The Humane Society of the United States Launches Campaign to End the Use of Chimps in Labs for Biomedical Research
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) unveiled its "Chimps Deserve Better" campaign today, which seeks to end the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research and testing and to retire chimpanzees currently in laboratories to permanent and appropriate sanctuaries.
The HSUS will not only work to gain further support from policymakers and scientists, but also educate the public about chimpanzee use in laboratories and how these highly intelligent individuals are closer to humans than many people realize. The campaign includes a "Chimpanality Quiz" to illustrate personality similarities between humans and chimps.
Three chimpanzees who were rescued from laboratories 10 years ago and now live in sanctuary at The Fund for Animals' Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas, are the "stars" of the quiz. They are model examples of the individual characteristics that great apes have: Kitty is a natural leader who is very serious; Lulu is outgoing and wears her emotions on her sleeve; and Midge is a perpetual child who is extremely curious.
According to Kathleen Conlee, director of program management for animal research issues for The HSUS, "Chimps are individuals and each have a completely different personality. Like humans, no two are alike. Our campaign at large and this more lighthearted quiz in particular, emphasize that."
She explains, "The similarities between us are often touted as justification for using chimpanzees for biomedical research and testing. However, these are some of the very reasons why chimps should not be used. Chimps experience emotions -- depression, joy, pain, distress and empathy -- and possess complex mental abilities like self-awareness and tool use. These are just some of the reasons that confining them for research for 50 plus years – their possible life span -- is ethically unacceptable and highly questionable on scientific grounds."
The HSUS wants people to have a better understanding that the costs associated with chimpanzee research are staggering -- ethically, scientifically and financially.
In addition to the quiz, new information is available at www.humanesociety.org/chimps, where people can learn more about how to help the approximately 1,300 other chimpanzees still being used in experimentation. "Chimps Deserve Better" merchandise will also be available to help spread the word.
Facts:
- There are approximately 1,300 chimpanzees living in nine U.S. laboratories today. Approximately 650 of them are owned by the U.S. government.
- Chimpanzees may spend up to six decades living in laboratories and being used in harmful research and testing, at taxpayers' expense.
- The U.S. is one of the only remaining countries in the world using chimps in harmful research, aside from Gabon, and has the largest collective colony of chimps for biomedical research and testing.
- The U.S. government provides approximately $20 - 25 million per year of taxpayer dollars for chimp research and maintenance. The lifetime care of one chimpanzee in a laboratory is $300,000-500,000.
- Approximately 100 chimps have been retired to the federally funded national chimpanzee sanctuary. Hundreds of additional chimps formerly used in research in the U.S. reside at private sanctuaries throughout North America.
- A recent decision by the scientific community supports the disadvantages of using chimpanzees in research. The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a division of National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently put a permanent end to breeding government-owned chimps for research.
- The HSUS seeks to stop all invasive use of chimps in research and testing and permanent retirement of chimps in laboratories to appropriate sanctuary. The hope is that the U.S. will join the many other countries, including Australia, Austria, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, and the Netherlands that prohibit or severely restrict invasive research on great apes.
The HSUS, in conjunction with Project R & R: Release & Restitution for Chimpanzees in Laboratories (a national campaign of The New England Antivivisection Society), seeks to end the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research and testing and to retire chimpanzees currently in laboratories to permanent and appropriate sanctuaries by: gaining support from policymakers, the public, and the scientific community; scientifically challenging arguments advocating harmful chimpanzee research; educating about the plight of chimpanzees in laboratories; and preventing breeding of additional chimpanzees into research. Visit www.humanesociety.org/chimps.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at humanesociety.org.
