Res. No. 1123
Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R.1513/S.810, the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011.
By Council Members Gonzalez, Nelson, Palma, Recchia, Chin, Koslowitz, Arroyo, Dromm and Halloran
Whereas, In the United States, chimpanzees are the only types of great apes used in invasive research; and
Whereas, Currently, there are approximately 1,000 chimpanzees housed in laboratories in the United States, approximately half of which are owned by the federal government; and
Whereas, According to the Humane Society of the United States, a national animal advocacy organization, owning and housing these chimpanzees costs the federal government approximately $30 million each year; and
Whereas, Aside from the cost, research laboratory environments are not beneficial for chimpanzees as these locations do not meet their complex physical, emotional and psychological needs; and
Whereas, Additionally, roughly 80 to 90 percent of chimpanzees in United States laboratories are not used in research but rather are warehoused at these facilities; and
Whereas, In 1997, the United States National Research Council released a report that addressed the ethical care, management and use of chimpanzees in research; and
Whereas, The report indicated that there is a moral responsibility for the long-term care of these animals, that there should be a moratorium on further chimpanzee breeding, that euthanasia should not be used as a means to control the size of the great ape population and that sanctuaries should be created to house chimpanzees to accommodate their physical and emotional needs; and
Whereas, The report's conclusions led to President William Jefferson Clinton signing the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act into law in 2000; and
Whereas, While this law generally provided better care and treatment for chimpanzees involved in invasive research, it did not establish criteria to determine when a chimpanzee should be retired, prohibit a retired chimpanzee from returning to research, or allow the laboratory to make these important decisions; and
Whereas, President George Walker Bush signed an amendment to this Act in 2007, known as the Chimp Haven is Home Act, which prohibited retired chimpanzees from coming back into service; and
Whereas, While these reforms greatly assisted in protecting chimpanzees, humans have a moral imperative to safeguard these animals further; and
Whereas, On April 13, 2011, United States Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011; and
Whereas, The purpose of this legislation is to phase out invasive research on great apes and eliminate funding for this research within and outside of the United States; and
Whereas, To accomplish this goal, the legislation prohibits transporting and breeding great apes for purposes of invasive research; and
Whereas, Great apes who are owned or under the control of the federal government would be retired and placed in a suitable animal sanctuary, as a cost-effective alternative to being warehoused in a laboratory; and
Whereas, GlaxoSmithKline, a major pharmaceutical company, voluntarily decided to forgo the use of chimpanzees in its research at the end of 2008; and
Whereas, The United States is the only developed country in the world that continues the large-scale confinement of chimpanzees in laboratories, with Australia, the European Union, Japan and New Zealand severely limiting or outright banning such practice; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R.1513/S.810, the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011.
LS # 2844
JM
9/28/11