The Misuse of Chimpanzees in Biomedical Experiments 1

Abstract

Field studies of the chimpanzee have earned our closest evolutionary relative extensive admiration and respect, but the very similarities we share have also exposed it to cruel exploitation in medical research laboratories. The scientific reasoning behind such use of chimpanzees for research into human diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis is weak, and the use of human volunteers, although with its own ethical dilemmas, is the only scientifically valid alternative method currently available. Once the ethical issues are explored, there is no doubt that inflicting such abominable treatment on such intelligent, social animals is morally unacceptable.

Until these experiments stop completely, those interested in primate welfare should campaign to improve conditions, so that those chimpanzees in existing laboratories at least experience some small improvement in their lives.