Chimp Research Policy: Think Global

Abstract

In their Policy Forum “Guiding limited use of chimpanzees in research” (6 January, p. [41][1]), B. M. Altevogt et al. note that breeding existing U.S. chimpanzee captives would likely be too slow to meet the demands of “a public health emergency.” This is true, but echoes the peculiar (although administratively understandable) approach of the Institute of Medicine's report, which considers only chimpanzees currently captive in the United States. There are more than 800 chimpanzees held in sanctuaries in Africa, mostly young victims of the bushmeat trade ([ 1 ][2]). When possible, these orphans are returned to the wild, but between individuals who cannot be reintroduced and the arrival of new orphans, the supply seems likely to remain high indefinitely. Investment in African sanctuaries would ensure the well-being of these chimpanzees, as well as the availability of chimpanzees in case of a genuine global public health emergency. This suggestion is predicated on an agreement as to what constitutes an “emergency”; the litmus test would be an international acceptance of the need to transport and use sanctuary individuals. Such transport is currently excluded by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance policy, and chimpanzees are regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), so the bar would be very high but presumably not insurmountable. If global chimpanzees are taken into account, there is no need to continue captive breeding for purposes of maintaining a large subject pool. Much research in comparative genomics and behavior can be conducted at African sanctuaries as well as at U.S. research centers. In fact, migration of such projects to Africa would not only help build academic infrastructure there but save money; maintenance costs are less than 1/10th of the $44 per day per individual cited for U.S. facilities ([ 2 ][3]). Neither health nor chimpanzees are exclusively North American issues, and our approach to both should be global, not local. 1. [↵][4]Pan African Sanctuary Alliance ( ). 2. [↵][5]Duke University Evolutionary Anthropology, Why Sanctuaries? ( ). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1217521 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text