Jeremiah Smith: “The bill calls on the scientists themselves to make the determination that a chimpanzee is no longer useful for research…”

“The bill calls on the scientists themselves to make the determination that a chimpanzee is no longer useful for research and to formally release the chimpanzee to the sanctuary system for permanent cessation of scientific experimentation. The amended version of the legislation allows one exception: In that rare, unforeseen circumstance, where a specific sanctuary chimpanzee may be required because a research protocol he endured in the past, combined with a technological advance that was not available or invented at the time he was released, could provide extremely useful information essential to address an important public health need, then that chimpanzee may be used in research if, and only if, the proposed research involves minimal pain and distress to the chimpanzee, as well as to other chimps in the social group, as evaluated by the board of the sanctuary. Of course, if a chimpanzee currently in a lab setting meets the same criteria, then the bill requires that the sanctuary chimpanzee not be used.”