Honorable Representative
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510
Honorable Senators
The U.S. Senate
U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Elected Officials of U.S. Congress,
Please co-sponsor the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 1513/S. 810).
In April 2012, legislators and staffers filled a
Congressional hearing room to better understand Institute of Medicine findings that
dispel the need for invasive chimpanzee research in
medical science. Martin Wasserman, M.D., J.D., former health secretary for Maryland
and Oregon, affirmed to the subcommittee on H.R.
1513/S. 810:
"NIH has taken the IOM report seriously. Passage of this bill is essential to ensure
that the unnecessary use of chimpanzees in invasive
experimentation will not occur in the future."
IOM’s report reveals chimpanzee experiments as unnecessary for hepatitis C
vaccine development and indicates that non-invasive
genomic or behavioral studies can occur at sanctuaries. The U.S. National Institutes
of Health has since frozen or limited funding for
chimpanzee research grants.
The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act bans invasive research on great apes;
possession or housing of great apes intended for
invasive research; use of federal funds to perform or support such research; breeding
and interstate/foreign commerce in great
apes for use in invasive research.
H.R. 1513/S. 810 has bipartisan endorsement. If you are not yet a cosponsor, I urge
you to back this important legislation. Please
advocate permanent retirement of federally sustained great apes (chimpanzees,
bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons) who have
undergone experimentation.
Great apes are induced with human disease, poisoned on test drugs, and wounded in
procedures. They endure pain, isolation, tedium,
fear, and ultimately death. Some display post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
These are sentient creatures, most like us, yet
not enough to generate data relevant to human health. Strides in in-vitro cell/tissue
culture analysis, bioinformatics and more
human-focused technologies render their role in research even more obsolete.
Chimpanzee experiments, banned across the world, are
still permitted in the U.S. This is a national disgrace.
Furthermore, it is irresponsible to waste taxpayer dollars on great ape research
grants during the present economic downturn. H.R.
1513/S. 810 suspends maintenance of federally owned great apes, a cost that exceeds
"caring for great apes in suitable
sanctuaries… that provide lifetime care," the bill states. Termination of
chimpanzee experiments alone salvages $1.3 billion
taxpayer dollars over the next decade. Some 1,000 chimpanzees still languish in U.S.
laboratories.
For animals, scientific advancement, and economic prudence, please cosponsor and
facilitate passage of the Great Ape Protection and Cost
Savings Act (S. 810/H.R. 1513).
Thank you,
YOUR FULL NAME
ADDRESS, CITY, STATE
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