110 Chimpanzees Are Finally Freed from Their Laboratory Cages

A few hours ago, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) made it public news that, thanks to several complaints raised both by the members of this organization, and by animal rights activists working with other green-oriented groups, the US National Institutes of Health finally agreed to help rescue as many as 110 chimpanzees.

The official website for PETA informs us that, up until now, these animals were used by scientists working with the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana as “research material,” meaning that rather numerous experiments were conducted on them in order for the scientists to figure out the ins and outs of a given problem.

It is not at all difficult to guess that, because they served research purposes, these chimpanzees were forced to live in cages that did little to provide them with proper living conditions.

Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that animal rights activists saw fit to do everything in their power to set them free.

As PETA reports, chimpanzees have long been used by researchers in their experiments, yet one report made public just last years is expected to soon help organizations such as itself succeed in freeing all such primates presently forced to live in laboratory cages.

Thus, the US National Academy of Sciences released a study stating that, “most current biomedical research use of chimpanzees is not necessary.”

In turn, the National Institutes of Health had no choice but to no longer provide money for experiments to be carried out on these animals, and rethink whatever money it had already agreed to make available for scientists.

Francis S. Collins, presently employed as director for the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), commented on this decision as follows: “This is a significant step in winding down NIH's investment in chimpanzee research based on the way science has evolved and our great sensitivity to the special nature of these remarkable animals, our closest relatives.”

Apparently, it will take about 12 months before all of these 110 chimpanzees are set free.