NIH Reducing Use Of Chimps In Research

Date: Jun-27-2013The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says it plans to considerably reduce the use of chimps in NIH-funded biomedical research, and to retire the majority of chimps it currently supports or owns.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., NIH Director, says the Institute has accepted most of the independent advisory council's recommendations for implementing a set of principles and criteria for use on chimps in research sponsored by the NIH. The principles and criteria were defined by the IoM (Institute of Medicine).

The NIH says it will not breed any more chimpanzees, but will hold on to 50 of them for future biomedical research. In an online communiqué, the NIH wrote "The chimpanzees that will remain available for research will be selected based on research projects that meet the IOM's principles and criteria for NIH funding."

There are already over 150 retired chimps in the Federal Sanctuary System, which was set up in 2002 by the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Proctection (CHIMP) Act. Dr. Collins said the ones being currently designated for retirement will probably eventually join them.

Dr. Collins said "Americans have benefitted greatly from the chimpanzees' service to biomedical research, but new scientific methods and technologies have rendered their use in research largely unnecessary.

Their likeness to humans has made them uniquely valuable for certain types of research, but also demands greater justification for their use. After extensive consideration with the expert guidance of many, I am confident that greatly reducing their use in biomedical research is scientifically sound and the right thing to do."

In accepting the independent advisory council's recommendations, the National Institute of Health says it plans to:
Keep "a small fraction" of chimpanzees for future research that meets the principles and criteria laid down by the IoM

Not breed chimpanzees

"Provide ethologically appropriate facilities (i.e., as would occur in their natural environment) for those chimpanzees as defined by NIH based on the advisory council recommendations and with space requirements yet to be determined"

Set up a review panel whose job will be to consider research project applications that plan to use chimpanzees (adhering to the IoM principles and criteria) after they have cleared the NIH peer review process

Close down research that does not meet the IoM principles and criteria that utilizes chimpanzees either owned or supported by NIH. This must be done in a way that minimizes the impact on the chimpanzees and preserves the research

Retire most of the NIH-owned chimps to the Federal Sanctuary system "contingent upon resources and space availability in the sanctuary system."
In order to retire additional chimpanzees to the Federal Sanctuary system, some technical changes in the NIH's legal authority will need to be made. There is currently a legal limit on the amount of money NIH is allowed to put towards retiring chimpanzees and caring for them in the Federal Sanctuary System. NIH says it will continue working with Congress to change that provision.







The NIH says there is not enough scientific evidence proving that each chimp needs at least 1,000 square feet of primary living space, something the independent advisory council recommended. The NIH said it will "engage chimpanzee behavior and facilities experts to determine the appropriate minimum space requirement for research chimpanzees."

James M. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., NIH deputy director for program coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives, whose division oversees the NIH Chimpanzee Management Program, said "Today's decision by NIH culminates more than two years of intensive deliberations among NIH leadership, independent chimpanzee experts, researchers, bioethicists, and members of the public. We are grateful to all who have contributed their insight and expertise during the advisory process."

This video by The Humane Society of the United States shows how chimps react when they are moved from the laboratory into a sanctuary.

What is it like for chimpanzees in laboratories?
According to The Humane Society of the United States, there are enormous differences between the chimpanzee's life in the wild and in the lab.

In the wild, chimps may travel many miles in one day, they live in very diverse social groups. In the lab, many of them simply exist in metal cages measuring 5'x5'x7' (1.53x1.53x2.13 meters) for days, weeks and sometimes even months, without any chance to exhibit natural behaviors, such as social grooming, nest building and foraging.

Confined laboratory chimps are more likely to become depressed, aggressive, anxious, frustrated - some may even deliberately hurt themselves.

When lab chimps are used in research, they often have to undergo distressing and painful procedures, such as liver biopsies, knockdowns (shot with a tranquilizer gun), and human virus infections.

The Humane Society of the United States adds that at any given moment, most laboratory chimps are not being used in biomedical research. However, even when not being used in experiments, a significant number are still confined to a laboratory setting, which can make them anxious and fearful. They may see other chimps undergoing unpleasant procedures and start wondering whether they are next.

IoM said chimps not needed for biomedical experiments in most cases - a report issued in December 2011 by the IoM and the National Research Council stated that chimps and humans share a surprising number of behavioral traits. Using them in experiments should only be considered if "there is absolutely no other choice - and even then, under much stricter conditions. If foregoing an experiment with chimps means preventing or considerably undermining necessary breakthroughs to treat or prevent life-threatening or extremely debilitating human conditions, and there is no ethical way of carrying out human trials, then, and only then should they be considered, the authors emphasized."
In Europe, testing on chimps stopped over a decade ago
European Union ended chimpanzee experiments in 2001 - the last research facility in Europe performing experiments on chimps - the Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk, the Netherlands - ended all research using apes in 2001.

The United Kingdom banned licenses for great ape research, 1997.

Animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients banned in European Union - as of March 11th, 2013, anybody wishing to sell new cosmetic products and ingredients in the EU must not have tested them on animals anywhere in the world. The ban includes any cosmetic product, including beauty products, toiletries, from soap to toothpaste.

Written by Christian Nordqvist

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