[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5852 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5852
To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great apes, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 17, 2008
Mr. Towns (for himself, Mr. Allen, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Braley
of Iowa, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Campbell of California, and
Mrs. Bono Mack) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees
on Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great apes, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Great Ape Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Advances in scientific knowledge reveal that our
nearest living relatives, great apes (including chimpanzees,
bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons), bear an exceedingly
close genetic relationship to humans.
(2) Great apes are highly intelligent and social animals
and research laboratory environments involving invasive
research cannot meet their complex social and psychological
needs.
(3) Confinement of great apes for purposes of invasive
research causes these intelligent and sentient animals to
experience harmful stress and suffering, such as profound
depression and withdrawal, self mutilation that can result in
physical wounding, hair pulling, rocking, and other traumatized
or psychotic behaviors.
(4) Invasive research performed on great apes, and the
breeding of great apes for these purposes, are economic in
nature and substantially affect interstate commerce.
(5) The majority of invasive research and testing conducted
on great apes in the United States is for the end purpose of
developing drugs, pharmaceuticals, and other products to be
sold in the interstate market.
(6) The total costs associated with great ape research have
a direct economic impact on interstate commerce.
(7) Care in a research laboratory for a single great ape
over the lifespan of the great ape of more than 50 years can
cost between $300,000 and $500,000, compared to an approximate
cost of $275,000 for high quality care in a sanctuary.
(8) An overwhelming majority of invasive research
procedures performed on great apes involve some element of
interstate commerce, such that great apes, equipment, and
researchers have traveled across state lines.
(9) The regulation of animals and activities as provided in
this Act are necessary to effectively regulate interstate and
foreign commerce.
(10) Australia, Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have banned or severely
limited experiments on great apes and several other countries
and the European Union are considering similar bans as well.
(11) The National Research Council (NRC) report entitled
``Chimpanzees in Research and Strategies for their Ethical
Care, Management, and Use,'' concluded that--
(A) there is a ``moral responsibility'' for the
long-term care of chimpanzees used for scientific
research;
(B) there should be a moratorium on further
chimpanzee breeding;
(C) euthanasia as a means of general chimpanzee
population control is unacceptable; and
(D) sanctuaries should be created to house
chimpanzees in a manner consistent with high standards
of lifetime care, social enrichment, and cognitive
development.
(12) In December 2000, the Chimpanzee Health Improvement,
Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act was signed into law,
requiring the Federal Government to provide for permanent
``retirement'' of chimpanzees who are identified ``as no longer
being needed in research''.
(13) In May 2007, the National Institutes of Health's
National Center for Research Resources' (NCRR) decided to
permanently end funding for the breeding of Government-owned
chimpanzees for research.
(b) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to--
(1) prohibit invasive research and the funding of such
research both within and outside of the United States on great
apes;
(2) prohibit the transport of great apes for purposes of
invasive research;
(3) prohibit the breeding of great apes for purposes of
invasive research; and
(4) require the permanent retirement of federally owned
great apes.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS.
(a) Invasive Research Prohibition.--No person shall conduct
invasive research on a great ape.
(b) Federal Funding Prohibition.--No Federal funds may be used to
conduct invasive research on a great ape.
(c) Transport Prohibition.--No person shall knowingly import,
export, transport, move, deliver, receive, possess, rent, loan,
purchase, or sell a great ape for the purpose of conducting invasive
research on such great ape.
(d) Breeding Prohibition.--No person shall breed a great ape for
use in invasive research.
(e) Exemption.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or
prevent individualized medical care performed on a great ape by a
licensed veterinarian for the benefit of the great ape.
SEC. 4. RETIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall provide for the permanent retirement of all
great apes owned or under the control of the Federal Government that
have been used for invasive research.
(b) Exception.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services may
provide for the euthanizing of a great ape owned or under the control
of the Federal Government that has been used for invasive research if
euthanasia is in the best interests of such great ape, as determined by
an attending veterinarian and endorsed by a second, unaffiliated
veterinarian.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(a) Great Ape.--The term ``great ape'' includes a chimpanzee,
gorilla, bonobo, orangutan, or gibbon.
(b) Invasive Research.--The term ``invasive research''--
(1) means any experimental research that may cause death,
bodily injury, pain, distress, fear, injury, or trauma to a
great ape, including--
(A) the testing of any drug or intentional exposure
to a substance that may be detrimental to the health of
a great ape;
(B) research that involves penetrating or cutting
the body or removing body parts, restraining,
tranquilizing, or anesthetizing a great ape; or
(C) isolation, social deprivation, or other
experimental physical manipulations that may be
detrimental to the health or psychological well-being
of a great ape; and
(2) does not include--
(A) close observation of natural or voluntary
behavior of a great ape, provided that the research
does not require removal of the great ape from the
social group or environment of such great ape or
require an anesthetic or sedation event to collect data
or record observations; or
(B) post-mortem examination of a great ape
following the natural death of such great ape.
(c) Permanent Retirement.--The term ``permanent retirement''--
(1) means that a great ape is placed in a suitable
sanctuary that will provide for the lifetime care of the great
ape and such great ape will not be used in further invasive
research; and
(2) does not include euthanasia.
(d) Person.--The term ``person'' means--
(1) an individual, corporation, partnership, trust,
association, or any other private entity,
(2) any officer, employee, agent, department, or
instrumentality of the Federal Government, a State,
municipality, or political subdivision of a State; or
(3) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States.
(e) Suitable Sanctuary.--The term ``suitable sanctuary'' means--
(1) the system referred to in section 481C(a) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287a-3a(a)); or
(2) a comparable privately funded sanctuary approved by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on the date that is 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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