Full Title Name:  Detailed Discussion of Great Apes under the CHIMP Act

I. Introduction

Chimpanzees have been used for scientific research in the United States since the early 1900’s. As early as 1916, Robert M. Yerkes, a Harvard-educated psychologist, was rallying the scientific community to establish a primate research institute in the U.S.[1] By 1930, he had garnered enough support from Yale University, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation to establish the first dedicated primate research facility in the United States.[2] The Yale Laboratories for Primate Biology, which was located in Orange Park, Florida, was the first of many research facilities that would house, breed, and conduct controversial biomedical research experiments on chimpanzees over the next 80 years.[3] Although private researchers and some federal agencies had already been conducting research experiments on chimpanzees, the practice gained momentum in 1960 when Congress established the Nation’s regional primate centers.[4]  

Today, every other country in the world, with the possible exception of Gabon, has stopped using chimpanzees for biomedical research, yet in the United States the practice continues.[5] While the country remains divided on the ethical implications and scientific utility of using chimpanzees as research subjects,[6] there is a general national consensus that the costs to maintain chimpanzees for scientific research are extremely high. According to Congress, U.S. taxpayers pay millions of dollars each year to federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, just to maintain chimpanzees for research purposes.[7] That amount does not include the costs of developing and conducting the research experiments. As of 2007, there were approximately 850 federally owned or supported chimpanzees housed in six research laboratories throughout the U.S., which cost the taxpayers more than $11 million dollars a year to maintain.[8] According to recent estimates, it will cost taxpayers about $1.85 billion dollars to maintain those animals in research laboratories for the remainder of their lives.[9] While that number may seem high, it actually represents a marked decrease in the number of chimpanzees that were maintained by the federal government for scientific research during the prior decade. In 1999, U.S. taxpayers were paying to maintain approximately 1,500 chimpanzees, some of which were not even government-owned, in research laboratories.[10] Many of those animals were considered “surplus,” meaning that they were not needed for breeding or for scientific research, yet the government was paying to warehouse them for lack of a better long-term care plan. In 2000, Congress passed the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act which established a national sanctuary system to relocate the surplus chimpanzees from research facilities to sanctuaries, which would provide lifetime care for those animals.  

While the United States has not banned the use of chimpanzees in scientific research, the federal government has taken several significant steps in the past few decades to address the ethical, scientific, and financial implications of breeding, warehousing, and experimenting on those animals. The following section outlines key events from the recent past that led to the surplus of chimpanzees in U.S. research facilities and the actions that the government has taken to reduce the number of chimpanzees that are maintained in those facilities. The remainder of the discussion provides a detailed analysis of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act and an overview of the current status of the national chimpanzee sanctuary system.  

II. Need for the CHIMP Act

For more than six decades, the U.S. government has owned and supported chimpanzees for research experiments that are conducted or funded by various federal agencies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) breeds, maintains, and uses chimpanzees for biomedical research and funds independent scientific research projects that involve the use of chimpanzees.[11] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses and funds the use of chimpanzees for infectious disease research.[12] The Food and Drug Administration uses and funds the use of chimpanzees in drug development research.[13] Other federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, have utilized captive chimpanzees for a variety of experiments.[14] With the passage of the Federal Endangered Species Act[15] in 1973, and the subsequent listing of wild populations of chimpanzees as “threatened”[16] (1976) and then “endangered”[17] (1990), the government and private researchers were essentially cut off from the finite supply of wild-caught research subjects.[18] In response to the potential shortage of available research subjects, the National Institutes of Health began a breeding program, which eventually led to an excess population of captive chimpanzees in research facilities throughout the country. The National Research Council’s Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (NRC) warned that the “combination of excess captive chimpanzees in the US biomedical population and lack of facilities and resources to care for increasing numbers adequately will soon become an insurmountable problem of enormous complexity, cost, and ethical concern.”[19] As a result, NIH stopped breeding chimpanzees, but the government was left with the financial and ethical responsibility of providing lifetime care for the existing chimpanzees that it had acquired or used for scientific research.

The following timeline illustrates some key events leading up to the passage of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act in 2000, which established a federal chimpanzee sanctuary system to provide long-term care for chimpanzees that were bred, used, or maintained for use in scientific research. 

1986:  In 1986, NIH established an extensive government-funded chimpanzee breeding program, primarily in anticipation of their increased use in AIDS research.[20] During the peak years of NIH’s breeding program (1987-1993), the program produced an annual average of 10 live chimpanzee births per 100 animals.[21] The agency had not considered the long-term resources that would be required to maintain the chimpanzees, which can live up to 65 years in captivity,[22] because it expected many of the animals to “die prematurely from complications related to the research in which they had been used.”[23] The chimpanzees used in AIDS research did not develop AIDS and die as expected, nor did they prove to be suitable subjects for HIV and AIDS research.[24]

1994:  By 1994, the cost of caring for the chimpanzees and the agency’s rapidly dwindling resources prompted the NIH to commission the National Research Council’s Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (NRC) to study the problem and make recommendations for the long-term care of the animals.

1995:  In 1995, NIH declared a breeding moratorium on all chimpanzees that are owned or supported by NIH’s National Center for Research Resources (NCRR).[25] The agency has since made the breeding moratorium permanent, citing the lack of financial resources to support ongoing breeding and the high cost of maintaining the existing chimpanzee facilities.[26]    

1996:  As of 1996, there were 528 chimpanzees in the breeding program, 246 of which were considered “surplus,” meaning that there was no current or projected need for those animals for either breeding or research purposes.[27] Also, there were more than 300 captive chimpanzees living in six separate research facilities in the U.S. that had been exposed to either HIV or hepatitis, or both.[28] The cost to maintain an infected (or “contaminated”) chimpanzee in a biohazard containment facility is estimated to be between $30 and $67 a day, or more than $500,000 for the life of the animal.[29]

1997:  In 1997, the National Research Council’s Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (NRC) published a lengthy report called Chimpanzees in Research: Strategies for their Ethical Care, Management, and Use.[30] The federally-supported study estimated that the cost of maintaining the existing chimpanzees in U.S. research facilities for the next 60 years would exceed $3.14 billion dollars.[31] At that time, there were 2,500 known captive chimpanzees throughout the world, and approximately 1,500 of those animals were maintained in six scientific research facilities in the United States.[32] NRC found that the existing NIH-supported biomedical chimpanzee facilities were overcrowded, which compromises the quality of care of the apes and increases the risk of the spread of infectious disease from the deliberately-infected chimpanzees to “healthy animals.”[33] The report recommended that the government explore the option of ethically disposing of both “contaminated” and non-contaminated surplus chimpanzees in long term care facilities like private sanctuaries to reduce the government’s financial liability for the lifetime care of those animals. NRC had considered and rejected the option of utilizing euthanasia as a means of population control[34] on moral grounds.[35] According to the Council, “it is difficult to conceive that our society would accept a system that deteriorated to the point where euthanasia of chimpanzees became the best or only humane option.”[36] On the other hand, NRC reasoned that transferring the surplus chimpanzees to private (non-government) sanctuaries would save the government money because it costs less to maintain apes in sanctuaries than in research facilities,[37] and public donations to sanctuaries would offset the government’s financial burden for the long-term care of the animals.[38] 

1998:  In 1998, the U.S. Air Force “retired” 144 chimpanzees that were remnants of the space program which used chimps in the 1950’s and 1960’s.[39] In 1970, when the chimpanzees were no longer needed for the space program, they were leased by the federal agency to various research institutions for biomedical experiments. This continued for nearly 30 years. When the agency decided to permanently divest itself of the apes, it did not send most of the animals to sanctuaries. Instead, 30 individuals were sent to a sanctuary in Texas and the Air Force gave 111 of the chimpanzees to the now-defunct Coulston Foundation, a biomedical research corporation that sparked tremendous controversy for its “remarkably poor animal care record.”[40] In fact, just months before the Air Force announced its decision to transfer ownership of the chimpanzees to the Coulston Foundation, the facility had been cited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the negligent deaths of two female chimpanzees and other Federal Animal Welfare Act violations.[41] A year after the Air Force gave its surplus chimpanzees to the Coulston Foundation, the facility entered into a consent agreement with the USDA for ongoing violations of the Animal Welfare Act which had resulted in the deaths of 35 chimpanzees and 13 monkeys.[42] As part of that 1999 consent agreement, the facility agreed to relinquish ownership of 300 of its 650 chimpanzees.[43] Many of those animals would return to federal ownership.

1999:  In 1999, Representative James C. Greenwood introduced H.R. 3514, the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act (CHIMP Act)[44] to establish a national sanctuary system for chimpanzees that have been used, or were bred or purchased for use in scientific research that was conducted or supported by various federal agencies.[45] According to Representative Greenwood, the federal government had been spending millions of dollars to keep the surplus chimpanzees in “inhumane conditions” and sending the animals to sanctuaries represented an opportunity to finally treat them humanely.[46]  

2000:  In 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stopped funding the Coulston Foundation and took ownership of 288 of Coulston’s chimpanzees, all of which had been infected with HIV or hepatitis.[47] Thus, the federal government, rather than the Coulston Foundation, had the financial burden of providing long-term care for the animals. However, despite the transfer of ownership of those animals to NIH, there was no facility in the country that could adequately house them.[48] NIH had to leave the chimpanzees where they were, but awarded Charles River Laboratories a $42.8 million dollar, 10-year contract to maintain the apes at their current facility on Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. 

By then, the federal government was spending an estimated $7.5 million dollars annually to warehouse “surplus” chimpanzees in various laboratories throughout the country.[49] In response to the recommendations included in NRC’s 1997 report and because the government’s newly acquired chimpanzees remained at the Coulston Foundation despite “continuing and alarming reports of animal abuse” at the facility,[50] Congress passed H.R. 3514 to establish a national system of sanctuaries to provide lifetime care to chimpanzees. The bill, which had 143 co-sponsors in the House, and passed the Senate with unanimous consent, became effective on December 20, 2000.[51] The legislation received widespread support from the scientific community and animal advocates alike. According to one scientist, “[s]anctuaries are cheaper, healthier and better for the breeding and the interests of the chimpanzees, since chimpanzees confined in most medical research facilities are not…[in] a suitable environment for breeding or for long-term holding.”[52]The 1997 NRC report predicted a tremendous financial advantage in sending surplus chimpanzees to sanctuaries. At that point, NIH had been spending $20 - $30 dollars a day to maintain each individual ape in research facilities, while the cost of maintaining a chimpanzee in a sanctuary would be $8 - $15 dollars daily.[53] As it turned out, the sanctuary facilities themselves are also two to three times cheaper to construct than housing facilities at research institutions.[54] In addition to economic benefits, the sanctuaries also provide chimpanzees with a greater quality of life in terms of the social interactions and the inherently richer environments that they offer.[55]

Several researchers had testified before Congress regarding their interest in retiring chimpanzees at their facilities. For example, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta had 75 chimpanzees that were ready to be retired to sanctuaries immediately. Also, the former-Coulston chimpanzees were in need of relocation. The Senate estimated that between 200 and 800 chimpanzees could be transferred to the sanctuary system in the coming years.[56]

III. The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act

The CHIMP Act designates all chimpanzees that have been used, or were bred or purchased for use, in research conducted or supported by any federal agency, and which are no longer needed for such research as "surplus chimpanzees."[57] All surplus chimpanzees that are owned by the federal government must be permanently retired into the sanctuary system that was created by this legislation.[58] Initially, the CHIMP Act included a provision that allowed retired chimpanzees to be temporarily removed from their sanctuaries and returned to research laboratories to be used as research subjects; however, that provision was removed in a 2007 amendment called the Chimp Haven is Home Act.[59]

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for implementing the CHIMP Act and for promulgating regulations governing the care and management of retired chimpanzees in the federal sanctuary system.[60] The Secretary of HHS delegated the authority to establish and operate the sanctuary system to the Director of the National Institutes of Health, who subsequently delegated that authority to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). Essentially, NCRR must contract with a qualified nonprofit organization to establish and run a sanctuary system that adheres to the minimum standards set forth in the CHIMP Act and in HHS regulations.[61] That nonprofit organization, which is called the “Sanctuary Contractor” or “Primary Contractor,”[62] may subcontract with other sanctuary facilities that meet the established standards and that are approved by NCRR. The Sanctuary Contractor is required to contribute 10 percent of the construction costs of the sanctuary facility and 25 percent of the maintenance costs for the chimpanzees housed therein.[63] The Federal Government is responsible for providing the remainder of the funds. The Sanctuary Contractor must provide special, quarterly, and annual progress reports to the designated federal officials as identified in the contract.[64] The annual report must also contain a statement that certifies the sanctuary is in full compliance with HHS’s minimum standards of care.[65] NCRR is responsible for monitoring the performance of the Sanctuary Contractor and any subcontractors. A NCRR Project Officer[66] must conduct scheduled site visits at least once annually (or more often if necessary) and review monthly and quarterly reports submitted to the Project and Contract Officer. The failure of a Sanctuary Contractor to comply with the CHIMP Act or HHS’s regulations could result in sanctions or termination of the sanctuary contract.[67]

Sanctuary Governance and Staffing: 

The Sanctuary Contractor must appoint a Board of Directors, consisting of no more than 13 qualified members,[68] that is responsible for developing policies to ensure that the sanctuary system complies with the CHIMP Act mandates discussed below.[69] In addition to a Board of Directors, the Sanctuary Contractor must also have a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is appointed by the Board and who is responsible for the daily operations of the sanctuary and other delegated tasks.[70] The Sanctuary Chimpanzee Care Committee (SCCC), which is appointed by the CEO or President, is responsible for overseeing the chimpanzee care and socialization program and facility operations to ensure that the health and safety of the animals and staff are effectively addressed.[71] As part of its oversight duties, the SCCC must conduct a formal review of the program semiannually and submit reports to the Sanctuary Director. Those reports are not submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the agency that enforces the Animal Welfare Act) or NIH, but must be made available to agency representatives during site visits.[72] 

The Sanctuary Director, who oversees the organization’s employees,[73] must be experienced in chimpanzee care and socialization, as well as management and administration.[74] All professional, managerial and support staff must have “appropriate experience,”[75] and the level of staffing must be sufficient to ensure that the chimpanzees are well cared for.[76] In addition to administrative, animal care, and facility maintenance staff, all sanctuary facilities must employ trained or experienced personnel in certain specified fields. For example, sanctuaries must have on-site security staff[77] to ensure the physical safety of the animals. Also, the sanctuaries must employ a behavioral scientist with knowledge of primate behavior to design a program and set guidelines for the well-being of the chimpanzees.[78] All sanctuaries must also have a “Facility Veterinarian”[79] and a “Biosafety Officer” who has experience with biosafety issues related to chimpanzees.[80] Facilities that house contaminated chimpanzees must employ a veterinarian who has knowledge of infectious diseases of chimpanzees.[81]  

Eligibility and Acceptance of Chimpanzees into the Sanctuary System: 

All “surplus” federal government-owned chimpanzees must be admitted into the sanctuary system, regardless of whether they have been exposed to, or infected with, an infectious disease.[82] A chimpanzee that is owned by other public or private entities may be accepted in to the system if: (1) there is available space for the animal in a sanctuary;[83] (2) the previous owner transfers legal ownership of the chimpanzee to the sanctuary system; (3) the previous owner pays a fee, if required;[84] and (4) all other criteria for acceptance into the sanctuary system (as determined by the Sanctuary Contractor and NCRR) have been satisfied.[85] Once a chimpanzee is admitted into the sanctuary system, he or she can never be transferred out of the system,[86] returned to a research facility[87] or euthanized[88] as a means of population control.[89] A chimpanzee may only be euthanized if it is necessary for medical or humane reasons, and doing so is in the best interest of the animal, as determined by the SCCC and the Facility Veterinarian.[90] Whenever possible, the SCCC must review and pre-approve the proposed euthanasia of an animal; however, if an emergency euthanasia must be performed without SCCC pre-approval,[91] the Committee must review the euthanasia after the fact to ensure that it was done in compliance with established policy.[92] 

Minimum Standards for Sanctuary Facilities:

All sanctuaries must create a safe and species-appropriate physical environment[93] for chimpanzees which includes sufficient space with natural and artificial objects and structures that allow the animals to engage in species-typical behavior and activities[94] while confining them within a defined area.[95] Contaminated animals must be housed pursuant to an established biosafety program that will prevent transmission of infectious diseases to other animals and humans.[96] The procedures for maintaining contaminated animals must be developed by the SCCC and approved by NIH.[97] All sanctuary facilities must be designed in accordance with the The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, where applicable,[98] and with HHS regulations.[99] All facilities must have safe and sanitary indoor and outdoor habitat areas that offer ranging space; nesting or sleeping areas; protection from exposure to weather elements and extreme temperatures; and places for the animals to retreat from perceived threats by humans or other animals. In addition, all sanctuaries must have on-site medical treatment facilities, isolation/quarantine and social introduction areas, as well as food preparation and storage facilities.[100] All sanctuaries must provide adequate security barriers to prevent the escape of animals and the unauthorized entry of humans. In addition, they must develop and maintain disaster and escaped animal contingency plans.[101]

In addition to the animal care, record-keeping, and transportation requirements in the Federal Animal Welfare Act[102] and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Regulations,[103] sanctuaries must operate in compliance with all other applicable federal, state, and local laws.[104] Also, sanctuaries must receive accreditation from a nationally recognized animal program accrediting body (such as the AAALAC, the AZA, or a similar recognized body), within a reasonable time frame.[105]

Minimum Standards of Care for Chimpanzees:

In addition to complying with the minimum standards of care in the Federal Animal Welfare Act and in USDA’s accompanying regulations,[106] all sanctuaries must comply with the following minimum standards of care established by the Department of Health and Human Services. Chimpanzees must have access to food, water, and bedding at all times.[107]Food and water receptacles must be maintained in a sanitary condition. Indoor enclosures must be cleaned daily, or more often as necessary “to maintain a clean and healthy environment.” Outdoor enclosures must be cleaned on a routine basis, and although outdoor ranging areas are not required to have a routine cleaning schedule, they must be maintained to prevent the accumulation of excessive waste or other unhealthy conditions.[108] The chimpanzees must be observed on a daily basis in a manner that causes minimal disturbance to the animals.[109] Chimpanzees may be trained to cooperate with various veterinary and animal care procedures through positive reinforcement techniques. The animals must never be trained using physical punishment.[110] 

All chimpanzees must be provided with “adequate veterinary care,” as set forth in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.[111] Such care must be administered on a daily basis (including weekends and holidays) by qualified personnel.[112] Sanctuaries must implement programs for the surveillance, detection, prevention, and treatment of infections, parasites, viruses, diseases, and other medical problems.[113] Chemical restraints may only be employed if necessary for certain medical procedures or for the safety of the animals or caregivers. If physical restraint is ever deemed necessary, “due consideration must be given to the temporary or permanent effects upon the chimpanzee and human and animal safety concerns.”[114] The SCCC is responsible for receiving and resolving concerns about the care of chimpanzees.[115] 

Permissible Activities Involving Chimpanzees in the Sanctuaries:

Chimpanzees may not be exhibited to the public for compensation. However, educational activities which involve limited viewing of the animals in their environment to promote an understanding of their behavior, well-being, or importance to the ecological system may be allowed as long as the activities do not adversely affect the chimpanzees’ routines.[116]All proposed educational programs must be approved by the SCCC.

“Invasive research,”[117] such as experiments involving deliberate exposure to infectious diseases, radiation, or other harmful substances; surgeries or surgical implantation of devices; drug testing; intentional infliction of distress or physical discomfort; anesthesia, restraint, invasion of body cavities, or unnecessary manipulation of social groups is strictly prohibited.[118] However, “noninvasive”[119] biological or behavioral studies that do not involve the removal of the animals from their social group or environment, such as visual observation, interaction between chimpanzees and caregivers, medical examinations that are necessary for the health of the animals, provision of essential medical care, and administration and evaluation of environmental enrichment objects are permitted.[120] All noninvasive study proposals must be approved by the SCCC and research applicants that have violated the Federal Animal Welfare Act are ineligible for approval.[121]  

Chimpanzees in the sanctuary system may not be bred or allowed to naturally reproduce.[122] All male chimpanzees accepted into the sanctuary system must be sterilized by vasectomies performed by experienced veterinarians.[123] In addition, all nongovernment-owned female chimpanzees must be rendered permanently incapable of reproduction by tubal litigation, or other effective procedures.[124] The SCCC is responsible for establishing and overseeing a birth-control program for the animals.[125] 

IV. The National Chimpanzee Sanctuary System

On September 30, 2002, Chimp Haven, Inc.,[126] a non-profit sanctuary in Keithville Louisiana was awarded a ten-year $30 million dollar NIH contract to serve as the first Sanctuary Contractor under the Chimp Act.[127] Approximately 40% of the award was spent on construction of sanctuary facilities on 200 acres of land donated by the citizens of Caddo Parish, leaving 60% for the care and maintenance of sanctuary chimpanzees.[128] The first CHIMP Act retirees, Rita and Teresa,[129] arrived at the sanctuary on April 4, 2005.[130] The two chimpanzees had been taken from Africa in the 1960’s for use in NASA’s space program. When they were no longer needed by NASA, they were sent to research laboratories to spend decades confined in 5 foot x 5 foot x 7 foot cages and used in scientific research experiments until they were both in their 40’s. A 2005 New York Times article recounted their first day of retirement in the Federal Sanctuary System. 

[T]he two chimps were shown to their spacious new sleeping quarters, complete with fresh running water and cross-ventilation, multiple windows and skylights, hammocks made of neatly crosshatched sections of used fire hose, bedding of warm blankets and hay, vanity mirrors, as well as a TV, a VCR and DVD and CD players. Following a long nap, Rita and Teresa awoke to a couple of banana smoothies and were shown the door to their courtyard. As it was recalled to me by a staff member, they paused a moment to regard the somewhat otherworldly prospect of a wide-open, odor-free patio, a playground jungle gym and, just beyond the play yard's far walls, their own private five-acre expanse of grapevine-laced pines and sweetgums. And then, as if in some unwitting primate pantomime of the very Apollo 11 moonwalk they'd helped to make a reality, they stepped out into the sunlight and tentatively down onto an equally unfamiliar earth.[131]

As of April 30, 2008, 127 government-owned or supported chimpanzees had been transferred to Chimp Haven. The current contract expires in 2012, and according to NIH, it is unclear whether additional funds will be appropriated to provide ongoing support to the chimpanzees that are currently at Chimp Haven and to provide sanctuary to the chimpanzees that remain warehoused in laboratories for lack of available sanctuary space.[132] According to the Federal Government’s own estimates, there are still several hundred more “surplus” chimpanzees who, pursuant to the CHIMP Act, must be sent to federal sanctuaries. Yet, more than a decade since the passage of the CHIMP Act, those animals have still not been sent to sanctuaries.  

V. Conclusion

In 2006, the Emmy-winning PBS series Nature launched a film called Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History. The film reflects a growing national concern for the welfare of captive chimpanzees. According to the filmmakers, “many have been used to test our drugs or to help develop our vaccines, others have been infected with our most frightening diseases.”[133] Yet, “we never considered what they wanted or needed. But their side of the story is starting to emerge. And it can be heard at the sanctuaries where many retired chimps now reside. It can be read in their medical records, seen in their mutilated bodies, or sensed through their psychological afflictions.”[134]

Until the passage of the CHIMP Act just over a decade ago, very few lab chimpanzees were released to sanctuaries, and the few private sanctuaries that took in former lab chimps received no federal funding for the very expensive long-term care of those animals. Without appropriate sanctuary facilities or adequate resources, hundreds of “surplus” laboratory chimpanzees had no prospect of a future outside of the research facilities. Because of the CHIMP Act, more than a hundred government-owned laboratory chimpanzees are enjoying a peaceful and dignified retirement at Chimp Haven, the country’s first federally-funded chimpanzee sanctuary.

[Chimp Haven] is a veritable chimpanzee Jurassic Park, a shining example of just how far we can extend the inherently paradoxical process of trying to liberate and dignify a wild creature within captivity. It's all a direct answer and antidote to the days of the old inner-city-zoo ape house, where all that the inhabitants got was the equivalent of a tiled public lavatory stall with a token section of log and a metal nameplate secured out front, a dot on a silhouette of Africa indicating the captive's original home.[135]