Overview: On March 5th, 2009, U.S. Representatives Edolphus Towns (D-NY), David Reichert (R-WA), James Langevin (D-RI), and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) reintroduced the Great Ape Protection Act, H.R.1326 in the U.S. House (the bill was originally introduced on April 17th, 2008) to end invasive biomedical research and testing on an estimated 1,000 chimpanzees remaining in U.S. laboratories.
On August 3, 2010, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Great Ape Protection Act, S.3694 in the U.S. Senate, lending bipartisan support to end the use of great apes in invasive research.
The bill would retire approximately 500 federally owned chimpanzees currently in U.S. laboratories, many for more than 40 years, to permanent sanctuary. To read the bill’s text, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ and search for H.R.1326 and S.3694.
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Updates
August 2010: A Senate version is introduced (S.3694). The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R.1326) is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill now has the support of 149 cosponsors.
Background
Project R&R works hand in hand with scientists, world renowned chimpanzee experts, founders of chimpanzee sanctuaries, as well as with other leading national and international organizations. Project R&R spearheaded efforts to end the use of chimpanzees in U.S. research and is currently focused on passing the Great Ape Protection Act, H.R.1326/S.3694. The bill will end the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research and retire all federally owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuary.
To learn more about how you can TAKE ACTION, click here.
While other countries have already passed laws that limit or prohibit research on chimpanzees, the United States is the only remaining country in the world with a large population of chimpanzees held captive in its laboratories for use in research. An end to U.S. use of chimpanzees—and all great apes—in research will mark the first time any nonhuman species is not allowed to be used in experimentation in the United States.
