WHY IS IT UNETHICAL TO USE CHIMPANZEES IN THE LABORATORY

Chimpanzees are more like humans than any other living beings, differi ng in the composition of their DNA by just over one per cent. There ar e striking similarities in the anatomy and wiring of the chimpanzee an d human brains and central nervous systems. Thus, it should not be sur prising to find that there are also striking similarities in the socia l behaviour, emotional needs and expressions, and cognitive abilities of chimpanzees and humans. These similarities have become increasingly apparent during the last 15 years. Chimpanzees in the wild develop cl ose affectionate bonds between family members that may persist through out their lifetime of 50 years or more, and examples of true altruism, when individuals protect or even save the lives of non-related compan ions. Chimpanzees use many objects as tools, and tool-using behaviours differ from place to place across their range. Indeed, there are a nu mber of behaviours that vary between different groups - evidence of cu ltural traditions passed from one generation to the next through obser vational learning and imitation. Thus, chimpanzees have a very special relationship with humans. A healthy adult chimpanzee is more similar to a healthy adult human in the expression of the intellect than a bra in-damaged human, yet in many medical research facilities, chimpanzees are maintained in bleak, bare cages measuring only 5'x 5'x 7'. They m ay remain in these prisons for life. We do not treat hardened human ki llers so badly in our society today - there would be a public outcry i f we did. I feel strongly that the use of a being so like us, as a hum an guinea-pig, is not morally justified, and to that end the Jane Good all Institute has been involved in three workshops with the aim of cla rifying the extent to which they are seen to be useful in diseases suc h as hepatitis and AIDS research. There is no consensus among scientis ts regarding their usefulness at the present time. If the proposed exp eriments of transplanting chimpanzee bone marrow tissue into AIDS pati ents go ahead in the Netherlands, it will be a sad blow for chimpanzee liberation. The attitude of those who believe that any use of non-hum an primates can be justified provided it results in some benefit, or e xpected benefit, to humankind, is of precisely the same mind set as th at which once allowed us to exploit human beings of another race and u se them as slaves. Once we admit that chimpanzees have minds and feeli ngs, are capable of sadness, Fear and despair, are able to feel pain, show altruism, and are capable of communicating with each other and wi th humans in a man-made language, we have to ask serious questions, in itially of ourselves, gs to whether we should continue to use them in medical research.