The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[Joe Garden <joegarden AT yahoo.com>]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001024/pl/chimpanzee_refuge_3.html

Tuesday October 24 6:57 PM ET
House Votes for Chimp Sanctuaries 

By REBECCA SINDERBRAND, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States would establish a
network of chimpanzee sanctuaries under a bill passed
by the House Tuesday.

The sanctuaries would care for the animals after they
are no longer needed for biomedical research.

The measure, which passed on a voice vote, would allow
spending up to $30 million to set up the centers,
which would be managed by a nonprofit private entity.
Chimpanzees used by nongovernment researchers could
also be admitted to the preserves, space permitting,
for an entrance fee.

The Senate has not yet taken up the measure.

Government researchers overbred chimpanzees at the
beginning of the AIDS (news - web sites) epidemic,
according to Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa., the bill's
sponsor. But they found the animals to be a poor model
for study because they rarely contracted AIDS after
being infected with the virus, HIV.

Chimpanzees, which can live up to 60 years, cannot be
returned to the wild after medical research because
most of them carry diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
They also face death from wild chimpanzees that feel
their territory has been violated.

Once admitted to these proposed sanctuaries,
chimpanzees would not face any further invasive
research, although observational research would be
permitted.

``These animals deserve far better from us than they
have been getting,'' said Greenwood. ``This
legislation is not only the humane thing to do - it is
also the cost-effective thing to do.''

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the plan
would save the federal government an average of $3
million a year after the starting costs, because of a
planned public-private partnership.

The bill has received pledges of fund-raising support
from such prominent naturalists as Jane Goodall.

Last week, Congress voted to provide $5 million a year
for the Interior Department to use for grants to
organizations involved in efforts to protect the great
apes of Asia and Africa.

-

The bill is H.R. 3514.

On the Net:

Search for bills at: http://thomas.loc.gov




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