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Ban on Great Ape Experimentation Proposed
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Call your U.S. Representatives today to make a difference!
The Great Ape Protection Act, H.R. 1326, has been reintroduced, prohibiting invasive research on great apes, including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons. This bill would also provide for the permanent retirement of all great apes owned or under the control of the federal government that have been used for invasive research.
This bill, sponsored by Representative Edolphus Towns (NY), already has co-sponsors from both parties. It would take effect three years after passage, but faces a difficult struggle—your help is needed!
UPDATE: The number of sponsors continues to grow, with 149 representatives, in total, signing on as sponsors to date. Check to see if your representative has become a sponsor of the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA). If not, please contact them and ask them to join the growing number of supporters for the Great Ape Protection Act.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Watch this space for updates on GAPA. (7/22/10) |
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Great apes, which have been used since the 1950s as models for physiological, biomedical, and behavioral studies, are intelligent and social animals whose physical and mental similarities to humans indicate that their pain, needs and emotions are comparable to those experienced by humans.
Advances in medical science show that research on great apes to find solutions to human problems is unnecessary, and in fact can provide misleading information in providing cures for human disease. Austria, the United Kingdom, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Japan have already banned or severely limited experiments on great apes. It is time that the U.S. recognizes that great apes should not be used for experimentation.
Please go to the NAVS Advocacy Center and write to your U.S. Representative TODAY! Ask him/her to support H.R. 1326 to ban the use of great apes for research. Even more importantly, please ask your Representative to become a sponsor of this bill.
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