The Humane Society of the United States applauds the permanent retirement of the last seven chimpanzees remaining at Buckshire Corporation, a medical research laboratory in Perkasie, Pa. (Bucks County). Chimps Annie, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Negra and Burrito (the lone male), ranging in age from 25 to 35 years, are scheduled to arrive today at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, a newly-built sanctuary in Cle Elum, Wash.
"The trend is clear as another lab gets out of the chimpanzee business and retires these seven animals to a sanctuary where they can live a more natural life in a safe and peaceful setting," says Kathleen Conlee, director of program management for animal research issues at The HSUS. "There are now approximately 575 chimpanzees formerly used in research living in 10 sanctuaries in North America, and it's time for the remaining 1,200 living in labs to join the others in sanctuary retirement."
Through its Chimps Deserve Better campaign, The HSUS advocates for passage of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 5852) recently introduced in Congress. This bill — introduced by U.S. Representatives Ed Towns (D-N.Y.), Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), and Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) — seeks to end the use of chimpanzees in invasive research and to retire the 600 government-owned chimps currently in labs to permanent and appropriate sanctuaries.
Timeline
June 10, 2008: Buckshire Corporation transferred its last seven chimps to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
April 17, 2008: Great Ape Protection Act introduced in House of Representatives by Representatives Towns, Reichert, Langevin and Bartlett; an additional 14 co-sponsors to date.
October 2007: The HSUS launched its Chimps Deserve Better Campaign.
May 2007: The National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health permanently ended funding for breeding of government-owned chimpanzees for research.
February 2006: Ohio State University transferred its nine chimpanzees to a sanctuary.
April 2005: The federally funded national chimpanzee sanctuary system, run by Chimp Haven, took in its first chimpanzee residents, adding to the hundreds of chimpanzees already retired in privately funded chimpanzee sanctuaries in the U.S. and Canada, including Save the Chimps and Fauna Foundation.
2002: Closure of Coulston Foundation; 266 chimpanzees retired to a sanctuary.
December 2000: The CHIMP Act, a bill to create a federally funded national sanctuary system for the retirement of chimpanzees following their use in research, became public law. This law also conferred special moral status to chimpanzees by prohibiting killing them as a matter of convenience to laboratories.
1997: Closure of Holloman Air Force base chimpanzee facility; 111 chimpanzees transferred to the Coulston Foundation and 30 to a sanctuary.
1995: Closure of New York University's Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates; approximately 114 chimpanzees transferred to Coulston Foundation and 109 to sanctuaries.
Facts
- Of the estimated 1,200 chimpanzees currently held in nine U.S. laboratories, approximately half are government owned or supported.
- The government spends $20 – 25 million per year on research and care of chimps in labs.
- The lifetime care of one chimpanzee costs $300,000 to $500,000.
- The U.S. is the only country in the world that continues the large-scale use of chimpanzees for invasive research and testing.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 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.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest provides lifetime quality care for formerly abused or exploited chimpanzees, while advocating for great apes through education and collaboration. For more information, please visit chimpsanctuarynw.org.
