5. Points We Agreed On
Phasing out of invasive research
Sanctuaries cheaper than laboratories
Need more social interaction
Better animal welfare
6. Modifications
Bring back research if needed
No complete ban on breeding
More time to phase out
-because of the following issues, this bill proposes to ban all invasive research and retire current apes to government-funded sanctuaries -lab environments inadequate for needs of animals -unethical to use an animal that displays high degree of emotional intelligence -cost of lab housing versus sanctuaries -unnecessary use of great apes in studies that do not contribute significantly to current knowledge
-Don’t want to cause harm to the great apes if there is no point to the research (banning research) -Sanctuaries maximize physical and social benefits -Current research is showing no breakthroughs to justify research. -Apes can’t speak for themselves so we need to speak for them. -Competing because we want to provide research to benefit humans, but we also want to do well by the apes by providing them with a great life.
As a group, we decided to pass this bill with some modifications.
-better ethical treatment -advancing technologies we don’t need animals for research if there is no progress -don’t get the social interaction/stimulation in the laboratory -complex like humans -genetically similar to humans -cheaper in sanctuaries -sanctuaries provide better care for the remainder of their lives
-If an epidemic were to break out, we would want to bring back research to create a vaccine for this new disease as to not eliminate the entire population -Total ban of breeding could hurt the current great ape population and in the case of needing apes again for research, we would have to bring in more apes from the wilderness rather than using the ones currently in laboratories or sanctuaries. -Researchers need time to finish their current research and to find alternatives for conducting their research.
-genetically similar to human (98% of DNA) -despite the similarity, there are enough differences in their DNA or genetic make-up that research doesn’t provide significant information to human health research
-similar bill prohibiting research passed there and they have made successful switch from lab to sanctuary housing without any negative effects on apes’ behavior
-there was progress with Heptatis A and B before, so we don’t want a complete ban because of future epidemics -a large portion of current research doesn’t provide enough evidence to subject the apes to experimentation
-past research studies show that animals that are stressed or otherwise affected by their environment are less likely to yield meaningful, consistent, and useful results -also supported by the fact that for most current studies invasive research is no longer needed due to advancing technologies
