Chimps, Used For Medical Research Get Safe Havens

by Neda Jafar

Some may think it's bad enough that chimpanzees are used as "guinea pigs" for biomedical research in order to discover cures for many human diseases, but to imprison them in five by five by seven cages for the remainder of their lives has world renown wildlife advocate, Dr. Jane Goodall, Congressman Jim Greenwood and other animal activists working hard on new legislation, The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance & Protection Act.

HIV, hepatitus, malaria and influenza are just some of the many viruses that chimpanzees have been subjected to in hopes of creating cures for human beings. Because of their many similarities to humans, chimps have been chosen out of the hundreds of other animals in this world to undergo this research that benefits humans. "We are really torturing them," Goodall admits. "Visiting the labs and looking into the bewildered, or sad, or angry eyes of the prisoners in their cages is the worst kind of nightmare."

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) however, requires that all new medicines be tested on animals before they are used by humans. "Unfortunately, two thousand infected chimpanzees later, we have discovered that the HIV virus does not affect chimps the same way that it affects humans," Goodall told TeenSpeak. "The danger here, is that many of these new medicines or vaccines aren't effective on animals because they are different from us," she also explained.

Because of Goodall's beliefs that the testing and then caging of wild animals is cruel, she was impressed to see that a proposal sponsored by Congressman Jim Greenwood had been initiated. Concerned about the exploitive use of chimps for medical research, Dr. Goodall remarked, "It's sad we use them, but we should try not to hurt them too much by robbing them of their freedom after they have been used to satisfy advancements." Providing chimps, (which typically live to a ripe age of 60) with a free environment, "The Chimp Act" would provide money and land for sanctuaries to be built in Africa for the infected chimps to live out the rest of their lives, outside of cages, among other chimps. These havens are expensive and the Jane Goodall Institute is not able to build sanctuaries in the United States because of the exhorbitant cost. The Institute, however, has been able to create 5 sanctuaries in Africa, the largest is in the People's Republic of the Congo.
Brochure cover for The Jane Goodall Institute

"Unfortunately, two thousand infected chimpanzees later, we have discovered that the HIV virus does not affect chimps the same way that it affects humans."