This factsheet was completed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Please direct any questions or comments to PETA directly at 757-622-7382 or info@peta.org.

Chimpanzees: Our Closest Living Relatives

Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. Chimpanzees and humans share the same blood types and have at least 95 percent genetic similarity. These highly intelligent animals have long childhoods, cooperate with and learn from each other, participate in cultural and social activities such as dancing in the rain, make and use tools, and even learn sign language if given the opportunity to do so.(1)

Endangered Species in Decline

Once home to at least a million chimpanzees, Africa now has a chimpanzee population of only 250,000 because their habitats continue to be threatened by commercial and agricultural development and because they are hunted for meat.(2) The Jane Goodall Institute estimates that 5,000 chimpanzees are killed by poachers annually.(3) Orphaned chimps are taken for the pet trade. Both species of chimpanzees, pan paniscus and pan troglodytes, are listed as endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List.(4) The U.S. Department of the Interior also lists them as endangered and threatened.(5)

Victims of Research

There are approximately 2,400 captive chimpanzees in the United States, 1,700 of whom are used in research.(6) Eight federally funded research centers use primates, including chimpanzees, as “models” to study AIDS, hepatitis, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, leprosy, heart disease, and other human health problems—even though chimpanzees would never contract these ailments under normal circumstances.(7) Most other captive chimpanzees in the U.S. are confined to zoos or used and abused in the entertainment industry. Only about 500 live in sanctuaries.(8) 

The United States federal government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) officially oversees the use of chimpanzees in experiments through its Chimpanzee Management Program (ChiMP), which funds the chimpanzee colonies used in NIH’s Chimpanzee Biomedical Research Program. The government’s track record is appalling. In 1993, an NIH-funded chimpanzee colony passed into the hands of the Coulston Foundation, which—after decades of serious complaints—was charged by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with violations of the Good Laboratory Practices and the minimum standards of the federal Animal Welfare Act.(9,10) In 2000, NIH took ownership of nearly half the Coulston chimpanzees, and in 2001, NIH finally made the decision to completely discontinue its financial support of Coulston.(11) Coulston subsequently went out of business.(12)

CHIMP Act

In the 1980s, the NIH began an intensive breeding program to supply chimpanzees for AIDS and HIV research, only to find that chimpanzees do not contract human AIDS. Under pressure from animal-protection groups, ChiMP passed the CHIMP Act, which established a system of sanctuaries for government-owned chimpanzees who were no longer “needed” for federally funded research protocols.(13) But even this does not offer protection for chimpanzees, as experimenters were able to successfully amend the CHIMP Act to allow them to continue to experiment on "retired" chimpanzees.

What You Can Do

Before you donate to a health charity, ask whether it funds animal experiments. Don’t contribute until you have a written guarantee that animals are not being used. Let charities and service organizations that fund animal tests know that you only give to those that don’t harm animals. 

Most colleges and universities have laboratories that conduct animal experiments. For information on the experiments being conducted and to voice your opinion, please contact the school directly.

Resources

1. Roger Highfield, “These Chimps Are Fishing for Ants … But Does This Make Them Cultured?” The Daily Telegraph, 30 Oct. 2002.
2. New Vision, “Uganda: We Must Save Our Cousins the Chimps,” Africa News, 28 Jan. 2003.
3. Kate Lahey, “Simon Is a Prime Mate for Uganda’s Needy Chimpanzees,” North Shore Times, 14 Feb. 2003.
4. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 15 Jun. 2004.
5. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “Chimpanzee, Pygmy,” and “Chimpanzee, ” Species Information, Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants,15 Jun. 2004.
6. Jane Goodall Institute, “Chimp Facts,” SavetheChimps.org, last accessed 15 Jun. 2004.
7. Division of Comparative Medicine (NCRR/NIH), National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Information Sheet, 28 Jul. 2003.
8. Jane Goodall Institute.
9. Dr. David A. Lepay, letter to Frederick Coulston, Division of Scientific Investigations, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Department of Heath and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Ref. no. 99-HFD-45-1201.
10. Shannon Lee Brown, “Surplus Chimps Stranded in Research Controversy,” The Washington Post, 15 May 2001.
11. Rene Romo, “Researcher Gives Up Chimps,” Albuquerque Journal, 22 Sep. 2002.
12. Deborah Baker, “Appeals Court Orders Coulston to Turn Over Records,” Associated Press, 19 Mar. 2004.
13. William J. Clinton, “Clinton Statement on Chimpanzee Health Act,” The White House, 20 Dec. 2000.