This statistic refers to the percentage of a chimpanzee's DNA that matches human DNA. Our seeing so much in common with them has led to everything from dressing them in tuxedos and making them ride tricycles to using them for medical experiments, and a host of other horrors in between. We gawk at them in zoos, and say, "His eyes look so human!" and we watch documentaries on chimps and gorillas and we're fascinated with their intelligence.
For all our fascination with these beings, however, we treat them horribly. We torture them, we imprison them, we breed them for our use and then kill them. It's shameful, and the time has come to end the abject cruelty and wanton humiliation to which these creatures are routinely subjected. They provide little or no use to us for medical testing (their systems are different enough that very little benefit is derived from testing procedures and medications on them), and the conditions they endure in labs would make any decent person cringe in horror. They suffer a similar fat in many zoos, and in various "entertainment" venues, where isolation and abuse literally drive them insane. Just as humans are driven insane in solitary confinement, when tortured repeatedly, and given no hope for escape from various forms of confinement. Just like us. Here's how the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Christian Barnard, described his experience with chimps in a lab:
"I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures."
Of course, we can't count on all doctors and scientists -- and the corporations that employ them -- to be this compassionate. Especially when there's money to be made. One of the largest producers and users of primates for research is located in our own backyard, in Denver PA. Click here to find out about COVANCE, and their history of abuse. Their facilities around the world have been repeatedly cited for animal cruelty, but because their use of the animals for research has remained legal, little has been done to stop them and the many labs like them. Of course, the only people defending the use of apes (and other animals) in research are those who benefit financially from it. Citizens who defend it are simply misinformed as to its benefit to humans, as there is NO need to continue using animals for medical testing. Computer models, existing data, and human test subjects eliminate the need to use animals. PERIOD.
Might there be hope? Possibly, with your help. The Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA), which was sent to the Energy & Commerce Committee in March of this year, could put an end to much of the abuse great apes suffer in labs. If this became law, it would do some really great things -- that is if the pharmaceutical lobbies (and their puppets in Congress) don't see to it that it's amended to death. GAPA would:
- Phase out the use of chimps and other great apes in invasive research in the US (much of Europe has already done this -- AGAIN, we're behind the curve).
- Release 500+ chimps "owned" by the federal government to sanctuaries, permanently.
- Make it illegal to breed federally-owned chimps. Note that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has already banned this within their organization -- that ought to tell the naysayers something, right?
When you call your House Rep, be brief, polite, but firm. You want him or her to support/co-sponsor HR1326, and you're aware that his or her refusing to do so would indicate (A) no concern for the humane treatment of these creatures, (B) no interest in real medical facts, which do not support continued use of these animals, and (C) that he or she is more obligated to the pharmaceutical lobbies and their corporate campaign funding than to the constituents who cast their votes. You will be asked to give your address, to show that you are in fact a constituent, but you won't have to do more than simply make a statement asking for support for HR 1326. The call will take just a few minutes, and it could help sway important votes and get GAPA passed when it comes up for a vote.
For more information, visit www.PCRM.org/GAPA.
Posts
