Tell Fish and Wildlife Service to Protect Captive Chimpanzees

Under current federal regulations, captive chimpanzees in the U.S. are exempt from federal protections even though chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1976. As a result, the captive-chimp loophole allows for private owners and breeders to exploit chimpanzees as exotic pets, biomedical research subjects, and sources of entertainment; this also incentivizes poachers and black-market traders in Africa to ply their illegal trade without fear of sanctions. As a result, the number of wild chimpanzees has fallen by nearly 70 percent in the last 30 years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing a change to these regulations in order to extend protections to all chimpanzees -- whether in the wild or in captivity -- under the ESA. The changes would eliminate the separate classification of captive and wild chimpanzees under the Act and remove chimpanzees from the list of primates in captivity exempted from protections under the Act.

The U.S. probably has more captive chimpanzees than any other country. Consider the following:

• The U.S. is the only country that is actively involved in biomedical research on chimpanzees. Approximately one thousand chimpanzees are kept in laboratories in the U.S., where many languish in social isolation for years on end, are subjected to painful and stressful procedures, and many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

• A captive chimpanzee bred in captivity is forcibly separated from his or her mother, usually in the first couple days or months of life, so that the infant will acclimate to being around humans. This inhumane technique has long-lasting psychological impacts on these animals, who have a broad range of culturally-transmitted behaviors.

• Many chimpanzees no longer deemed useful or who become aggressive and unmanageable as they enter adolescence are abandoned. This creates a need for sanctuaries to care for this long-lived, social, and highly cognitive species -- a major financial undertaking.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Endangered Species Act, one of the most robust and effective conservation statutes in the world. On this occasion, submit your comment to FWS to support their proposed change to ESA regulations to protect all chimpanzees, regardless of whether they are wild or captive.

The Service is accepting comments from the public regarding the proposed change in regulations until August 12, 2013.