Captive chimpanzees Amber and Alyce at LEMSIP
Photo: © Nancy Megna
The number of chimpanzees currently available for research and the number of federally funded protocols involving them are lower than they were 10 or even five years ago.
Although encouraging, the decreasing numbers do not tell the whole story. In recent years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – which provides funding for chimpanzee research – has promoted the increased use of a single chimpanzee for multiple experiments. This policy gives special reason for concern.
Today, chimpanzees are used primarily for infectious disease research. The following provides an overview of their current use in publicly funded biomedical research.
Repeated use
Chimpanzees available for biomedical research are maintained in large numbers at a few centralized facilities. Presently, almost half of the estimated 1,200 chimpanzees are housed at two facilities (358 at New Iberia Research Center; 275 at Alamogordo Primate Facility).
The NIH’s solution to the high cost of chimpanzee housing and care is to promote centralization and multiple use of individuals. According to its 1997 report, Chimpanzees in Research: Strategies for Their Ethical Care, Management, and Use: “Such large figures [referring to the costs of maintaining chimpanzees for research] argue for careful population management and multiple use whenever possible.”
Individual chimpanzees are used repeatedly by various federal and private laboratories to obtain blood, serum, tissue, and other biological specimens, or in multiple protocols. Since captive chimpanzees can live more than 50 years, this policy could mean decades of multiple experiments, knockdowns, and other procedures. Centralization and “recycling” chimpanzees into multiple research protocols adds to the suffering of these highly sensitive and cognizant individuals.
To learn more, read Repeated Use.
Hepatitis
Hepatitis research is currently the largest area of chimpanzee use in the U.S. Nearly one-third of the costs for chimpanzee research in 2003 and 2004 (an estimated $6 of $19 million and $5 of $15 million respectively) went to hepatitis studies. It continues even in the face of valid arguments challenging its scientific worth.
Chimpanzees are now used largely for hepatitis C (HCV) research. However, the course of HCV disease in the chimpanzee differs markedly from its course in humans. These differences, like the disparities seen in other viral infections, explain why using chimpanzees to develop a hepatitis C vaccine for humans is problematic.
Once infected, chimpanzees live in isolation in sterile bio-containment where they are subjected to frequent blood draws and other invasive procedures. Liver punch biopsies are a common procedure. Although chimpanzees are typically anesthetized for these procedures, anesthesia and recovery are difficult.
To learn more:
- Hepatitis Detour
- The Case to End Chimpanzee Research
- Read about Billy Jo, and other chimpanzees who have endured this research
HIV
Since the early 1980s, the U.S. government has used hundreds of chimpanzees for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research. This research is considered largely a failure having resulted in little new or applicable information about the disease, its treatment, or cure.
In spite of untold attempts to infect chimpanzees with HIV in every conceivable way, only one chimpanzee has ever become ill with an AIDS-like syndrome and died. Despite this, a relatively small amount of HIV research on chimpanzees continues (some $2 million in federal dollars in 2004).
Hundreds of chimpanzees were purposely bred in the 1980s for HIV research. They account for the bulk of the so-called ”surplus” of chimpanzees in labs today – many of whom are simply warehoused. Some have remained for years in sterile biocontainment facilities.
To learn more:
Infectious disease
Chimpanzees can be infected with many of the same viruses that afflict humans.
However, in most cases infected chimpanzees do not become ill as humans do. The course of disease is radically different. Thus, they are typically used as a medium in which to grow viruses and antigens – essentially as living test tubes.
The differences that prevent them from becoming ill have bearing on why their use in such research is questionable. Despite the genetic similarities between chimpanzees and humans, intricate and complex physiological differences exist at the cellular level. For such reasons, their use to study human infectious disease is highly problematic.
In 2004, well over $8.2 million was spent on infectious disease research on chimpanzees in the U.S. – including $7+ million that went to hepatitis and HIV research.
To learn more:
- Infectious Disease
- Hepatitis: A Detour
- HIV/AIDS Debacle
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus
- Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
- Bioterrorism Agents
- Dengue Fever
- Norwalk Virus
Neurological research
According to a recent report by the National Council for Research Resources (the division of NIH that manages chimpanzee use), neuroscience is another major research area. A current study, for example, attempts to “infect” baby chimpanzees by injecting their brains with brain tissue and spinal fluid from humans suffering from multiple sclerosis.
Breeding and maintenance
According to Project R&R’s investigation, 30-50% of the total annual cost of federally funded chimpanzee research is for their maintenance. These costs are often buried in grants, and when tallied, comprise a significant amount of total funding.
Hundreds of chimpanzees were bred in the 1980s for HIV research. When this research was deemed largely unsuccessful, the government found itself with a “surplus” of chimpanzee research subjects who were costly to maintain. In 1997, the NIH declared a breeding moratorium which was recently extended to 2007.
Project R&R is devoted to investigating and uncovering the ways in which chimpanzees are presently used in experiments. Only through this information will the American public understand how both their tax dollars and chimpanzees are being used.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
*A NOTE ABOUT THIS REPORT:
Information on animals in biomedical research is not readily available to the public and must be gleaned from limited sources and information. Information provided was obtained primarily through published papers in scientific journals and abstracts for federal grants under the CRISP online database (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects). Little information is available on experiments that are funded by private companies.
If you have information that adds to or conflicts with any provided on this site, we welcome your feedback.
Learn more about difficulties of obtaining timely public information about animals in U.S. labs.
Last updated: 6/21/06