U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Grants Captive Chimpanzees This Major Protection, Praised By Dr. Jane Goodall
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule that means great news for captive chimpanzees this month. Captive chimpanzees along with wild chimpanzees, given the species imperiled numbers, are now listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This new rule lifts the captive chimpanzee status from threatened to match the endangered status of the captive members of the species’ wild relatives.
The rule is favorable for captive chimpanzees because as an endangered group, chimpanzees in captivity will be protected from certain activities that the ESA does not tolerate. In a move that many say didn’t come soon enough, listing captive chimpanzees as endangered means these remarkable primates will be ensured significantly more humane treatment, and the commercial trade of these intelligent creatures will be further restricted.
“Extending captive chimpanzees the protections afforded their endangered cousins in the wild will ensure humane treatment and restrict commercial activities under the Endangered Species Act,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said, according to the Jane Goodall Institute, which stated that the captive chimpanzees’ wild counterparts were listed as endangered in 1990. “The decision responds to growing threats to the species and aligns the chimpanzee’s status with existing legal requirements. Meanwhile, we will continue to work with range states to ensure the continued survival and recovery of chimpanzees in the wild.”
The ESA did not actually allow for captive-held animals to have a different status, according to the Jane Goodall Institute. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was petitioned to address the issue in 2010 from various organizations including the Jane Goodall Institute. Following the formal review, the Service agreed to list captive chimpanzees as endangered. Dr. Jane Goodall is a world-renowned chimpanzee expert. Goodall recently made headlines after she wrote a scathing open letter to Dr. Christopher D. Hillyer, president and CEO of the New York Blood Center, after it apparently chose to stop caring for 66 chimpanzees which were once used to test a hepatitis vaccine. Conversely, Goodall, a UN Messenger of Peace, highly praised the Fish and Wildlife Service for their new ruling.
“All at the Jane Goodall Institute wish to congratulate the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the decision to include captive chimpanzee in the endangered listing along with wild chimpanzees. This will be enormously beneficial to individuals in inappropriate captive conditions. As such it is a tremendously significant decision which will be welcomed by everyone concerned with the well-being of our closest living relatives. Thank you for helping to make their world a better place.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service have set aside $9.4 million in grants to protect chimpanzees and an additional $11.5 million in leveraged funds was also earmarked for chimpanzee protection, according to the Service. Without a permit, captive chimpanzees will no longer be imported or exported to and from the United States. Captive chimpanzees, thanks to their recent upgrade to endangered status, will also no longer be legally subjected to harm, harassment, or deliberate injury. It goes into effect on September 14, 2015. As an endangered species, no captive chimpanzee will be allowed to be killed without specific permission either. Permits for these activities will only be issued if the activity involves scientific research that benefits the captive chimpanzees’ wild counterparts or to enhance the survival of the species, though the Service stated that it will work closely with the biomedical research industry to allow human-benefiting research when no other research subjects would be sufficient.
[Photo Credit: Darl Papple/Instagram]
