September 29, 2010
A History of Advocating for Chimpanzees Used in Research
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
1999-1990 1989-1980 1979-1970 1969-1960 1959-1920
September The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times publish articles about the plight of the 202 Alamogordo, New Mexico chimpanzees, bringing the issue to a national audience. Click here to read The New York Times story. Click here to read The Los Angeles Times story.
August The Humane Society of the United States delivers more than 25,000 letters from the public to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, urging a halt to a plan to move 202 chimpanzees currently being warehoused in Alamogordo, New Mexico to a research laboratory in Texas. Add your voice » | Read more »
August The Great Ape Protection Act (S. 3694), which would phase out invasive research and retire government-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, is introduced in the Senate by Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. At this time, the companion House bill (H.R. 1326) has 151 co-sponsors. Take action » | Read more »
July The Humane Society of the United States, Animal Protection of New Mexico and other animal protection groups launch an effort to halt the planned transfer of 202 former Coulston Foundation chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico to the Southwest National Primate Research Center in Texas, where the chimpanzees would be readily available for use in invasive experiments. Take action » | Read more »
March The Humane Society of the United States calls on the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana to retire a group of nine chimpanzees known as "Group Megan." Take action » | Read more & watch the video »
March On the one-year anniversary of the release of results of The Humane Society of the United States’ undercover investigation at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana, The HSUS launches a whistleblower hotline for chimpanzee laboratory employees. Read more »
December The lead sponsors of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) send a letter on behalf of the bill’s 109 cosponsors to House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Ca., and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J. urging a hearing for the bill. Read more » | Take action »
November The Humane Society of the United States files a shareholder resolution with Abbott Laboratories asking the company to produce a schedule for phasing out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research and to publish the schedule online. Read more »
November A review—initiated by The Humane Society of the United States—of hepatitis C research using chimpanzees is published in the online edition of the Journal of Medical Primatology. The publication identifies many scientific problems with hepatitis C studies using chimpanzees, including a lack of biological relevance, questions regarding statistical validity, welfare concerns and incompleteness in the reporting of methods and experimental data. Read more »
October An exhibit featuring poignant images and video footage of chimpanzees living in research laboratories juxtaposed with images of chimpanzees living in sanctuaries is put on display at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Read more »
September World-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall visits committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) on Capitol Hill to express her support for the passage of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326).
June A Congressional briefing is hosted by Representative Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., and The Humane Society of the United States to inform members of Congress and their staff about the suffering of chimpanzees in laboratories and the urgent need to address this tragic situation by supporting the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326). At the time of the briefing, there are 58 cosponsors—almost double the total number of cosponsors of the original bill (HR 5852). Read more »
April The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare under the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—which is responsible for monitoring compliance with the Public Health Service (PHS)Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals at PHS-funded institutions—requests extensive information from New Iberia Research Center regarding its practices based on a site visit as well as the evidence from The Humane Society of the United States’ undercover investigation.
March The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cites New Iberia Research Center for six critical violations of the Animal Welfare Act—most of which pertained to the violations documented during the The Humane Society of the United States’ undercover investigation. Read more »
March The Great Ape Protection Act (HR 1326) is introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., David Reichert, R-Wash., Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., along with a bipartisan group of original cosponsors. The bill calls for a phase out of invasive research on chimpanzees and the retirement of approximately 500 government-owned chimpanzees. It also prohibits the breeding of chimpanzees for invasive research. Take action »
March The Humane Society of the United States releases the results of a 9-month undercover investigation at the world’s largest chimpanzee laboratory, the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana. The disturbing findings include over 100 alleged Animal Welfare Act violations involving chimpanzees which were reported to the United States Department of Agriculture. Read more & watch the video »
February An appeals court in Texas rules that chimpanzees from Ohio State University will remain at Chimp Haven, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Louisiana, and will not be returned to the Primarily Primates, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Texas.
November Final standards of care are implemented by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for chimpanzees in the federal sanctuary system. The standards regulate housing, veterinary care, behavioral management, population management and control, staffing, records, and guidelines for accepting chimps into the system. No other U.S.-based sanctuaries are subject to such legal standards.
August Primatologists and other experts gather at a symposium led by the Humane Society of the United States and held at the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland to discuss the use of great apes in invasive research. The symposium is one of the first ever devoted to the subject of invasive great ape research at this influential conference. Read more »
July Chimp Haven, the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana is home to 138 chimpanzees.
June Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum, Washington accepts its first chimpanzee residents from a laboratory in Pennsylvania. The seven chimpanzees were the last remaining at that laboratory. Read more »
April The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 5852), is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by a bipartisan team of eight lawmakers led by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Dave Reichert (R-WA), James Langevin (D-RI), and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD). The bill calls for a phase out of invasive research on chimpanzees and the retirement of approximately 600 government-owned chimpanzees. It also prohibits the breeding of chimpanzees for invasive research. Take action » | Read more »
December The Chimp Haven is Home Act, introduced in August 2007, is signed into law by President Bush. The law prohibits the removal of chimpanzees from the federal sanctuary system for research purposes other than non-invasive behavioral studies. This bill amended the CHIMP Act, which requires the federal government to provide for permanent "retirement" of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
November Chimp Haven welcomes ten new chimpanzees, bringing the total number of chimpanzees at the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana to 127.
August The Chimp Haven is Home Act is introduced in the House and Senate as amendments to the CHIMP Act. The identical bills are intended to prohibit the removal of chimpanzees from the federal sanctuary system for research purposes other than non-invasive behavioral studies.
May The National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces its decision to make the breeding moratorium on federally owned and supported chimpanzees permanent.
December The Chimp Haven is Home Act, which amends the CHIMP Act, introduced in July 2006 passes the House of Representatives, but does not make progress in the Senate before the end of the session. The CHIMP Act requires the federal government to provide for permanent "retirement" of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
November Seven chimpanzees formerly used in behavioral research at Ohio State University are brought to Chimp Haven, the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana, from the Primarily Primates sanctuary after the Texas State Attorney General's office seizes Primarily Primates due to allegations of poor care of the animals and mismanagement of funds.
October Thirteen chimpanzees—11 of whom are older than 40 years old—are brought to Chimp Haven, the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana. There are now a total of 77 retired chimpanzees at the sanctuary.
September The Primate Foundation of Arizona announces that it has transferred ownership of its 69 chimpanzees to the federal government and that most of the chimpanzees would be moved to the University of Texas, MD Anderson facility by 2010.
July The Chimp Haven is Home Act, a bill that will amend the CHIMP Act is introduced in the House of Representatives. H.R. 5798 is intended to prohibit the removal of chimpanzees from the federal sanctuary system for research purposes other than non-invasive behavioral studies. The CHIMP Act requires the federal government to provide for permanent "retirement" of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
February Ohio State University closes its chimpanzee facility and transfers nine chimpanzees to Primarily Primates, a sanctuary in Texas. Two chimpanzees die within six weeks of arrival. [Note: The seven remaining chimpanzees from this group have since been moved to Chimp Haven, the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana.]
October The National Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Chimp Haven, celebrates its official Grand Opening. There are now 31 chimpanzees residing at the sanctuary in Louisiana.
September The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium publishes the initial sequence of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) genome.
September The National Advisory Research Resources Council, which advises the National Center for Research Resource of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), extends the breeding moratorium on chimpanzees until the end of 2007.
April Chimp Haven’s first chimpanzee residents, Rita and Teresa, arrive at the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Louisiana from The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research.
March The Humane Society of the United States. submits joint comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the proposed standards of care for chimpanzees in the federally funded sanctuary system in response to a February 2005 Federal Register Notice.
January The National Institutes of Health (NIH) publishes a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” regarding standards of care for chimpanzees within the national chimpanzee sanctuary system.
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May Chimp Haven, a chimpanzee sanctuary, breaks ground at its Shreveport, Louisiana facility.
September The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the award of a contract to Chimp Haven for the establishment and operation of a chimpanzee sanctuary as mandated by the CHIMP Act.
September The Coulston Foundation (TCF) suffers financial collapse and officially closes its doors. Dr. Carole Noon, founder and director of the Florida-based Save the Chimps, purchases TCF with the help of a $3.7 million grant from the Michigan-based Arcus Foundation, bestowed on the condition that TCF donate all of its animals to her sanctuary. This allows for the permanent retirement of 61 monkeys and 266 chimpanzees.
April The Humane Society of the United States submits written testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, regarding funding for chimpanzee sanctuaries.
January President George W. Bush signs H.R. 3061 into law. The act includes appropriating $5 million towards the construction of the national chimpanzee sanctuary system.
December The Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, and related agencies' 2002 Appropriations Act (H.R. 3061) allocates $5 million to begin construction on the national chimpanzee sanctuary facilities.
September The National Institutes of Health (NIH) publishes a Request for Proposal for an entity to operate and maintain the national sanctuary system under the CHIMP Act.
April The Humane Society of the United States submits written testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, regarding funding for chimpanzee sanctuaries.
March The Humane Society of the United States submits testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education regarding funding for chimpanzee sanctuaries.
January-December The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stops funding the Coulston Foundation. The Coulston Foundation transfers 300 chimpanzees to the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico to settle violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
December President Clinton signs the CHIMP Act into law (P.L. 106-551). The law requires the federal government to provide for permanent retirement of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
December The Senate passes the House version of the CHIMP Act by unanimous vote.
October The House passes the CHIMP Act with amendments that allow chimpanzees to be returned to research laboratories under certain circumstances.
June S. 2725, the CHIMP Act, is introduced in the U.S. Senate by Robert Smith (R-N.H.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). The CHIMP Act requires the federal government to provide for permanent retirement of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
May The House Committee on Commerce holds a hearing on H.R. 3514. Speakers presenting testimony include the world renowned primatologist, Jane Goodall, Dr. John Strandberg (the National Institutes of Health), Tina Nelson (American Anti-Vivisection Society, representing the National Chimpanzee Research Retirement Task Force (which includes The HSUS)), and Dr. Alfred Prince (New York Blood Center).
1999 H.R. 3514, the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. James Greenwood (R-PA). This bill requires the federal government to provide for permanent "retirement" of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer needed for research.
1999 The chimpanzee sanctuary Save the Chimps (formerly the Center for Captive Chimpanzee Care) enters into an agreement with the Coulston Foundation after the sanctuary was granted custody of 21 chimpanzees following a suit against the Air Force, which previously had custody of the chimpanzees
1999 A coalition that includes representatives from the research, animal protection, zoo, and sanctuary communities writes a letter addressing the issue of chimpanzee retirement and submits it to U.S. Representative Porter and U.S. Senator Specter.
1997 Holloman Air Force Base announces the closure of its chimpanzee facility; 30 chimpanzees are sent to Primarily Primates, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Texas, and the remaining 111 are sent to the Coulston Foundation, a research laboratory in New Mexico, despite offers from other sanctuaries to care for them.
1997 The National Research Council publishes a report,” Chimpanzees in Research: Strategies for Their Ethical Care, Management and Use,” which concludes in part that (1) there is a "moral responsibility" for the long-term care of chimpanzees used for our benefit in scientific research, (2) there should be a moratorium on further chimpanzee breeding; and (3) euthanasia as a means of general population control is unacceptable.
1995 A moratorium on the breeding of federally-owned chimpanzees is put in place by National Institutes of Health (NIH) due to a "surplus" of chimpanzees, after the realization that the chimpanzee is a poor model for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
1995 The Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates closes; half of the chimpanzees are sent to sanctuaries and half are sent to the Coulston Foundation, a research laboratory in New Mexico.
1990 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ”up-lists” wild chimpanzees to an "endangered" status under the Endangered Species Act and captive chimpanzees remained separately listed as "threatened" with a Special Rule.
1986 A large chimpanzee breeding effort is launched for HIV research.
1978 The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service creates a Special Rule for chimpanzees, exempting them from protections afforded by the "threatened" designation under the Endangered Species Act
1976 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates the chimpanzee as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
1975, 1977 The United States restricts and then prohibits importation of chimpanzees caught in the wild under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), with minor exceptions.
1961 Enos, a chimpanzee from the Air Force colony, orbits Earth twice.
1961 Ham, a chimpanzee from the Air Force colony, is placed on a ballistic trajectory flight.
1950's The United State's Air Force creates a breeding colony of 65 wild-caught chimpanzees for use in the space program.
1940's Yerkes Primate Research Center shifts their focus to the study of infectious disease.
1920's Robert M. Yerkes establishes a laboratory with two purchased great apes (one chimpanzee and one bonobo—thought to both be chimpanzees at the time) at his rural home. This is considered the start of chimpanzee research in the United States.
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