Urge Health & Human Services to Retire Chimpanzees

Despite scientific evidence demonstrating they are unnecessary, more than 900 chimpanzees languish in U.S. labs today. Many are elderly and sick, and 80-90% are not even being used in studies. A law already exists that would retire these chimpanzees to sanctuary, however it is not being fulfilled. In response, NEAVS, the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA), Save the Chimps, Fauna Foundation, Animal Protection of New Mexico, the Kerulos Center, Sen. Bob Smith (lead sponsor of the Senate version of the CHIMP Act), and Friends of Washoe – under the counsel of Katherine Meyer of Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal in Washington, D.C., a premier law firm with extensive experience and success in animal protection – filed a Rulemaking Petition asking the government to define when a chimpanzee is not needed for research and therefore eligible for retirement. The Rulemaking Petition holds them accountable to the law.

The time for HHS to exercise its authority and responsibility is long overdue. Sign the petition urging the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to enforce the CHIMP Act and retire chimpanzees to sanctuary.