International Primate Day, September 1, is an annual educational observance event organized since 2005 largely by British-based Animal Defenders International (ADI)[1] [2][3][4] and supported annually by various primate-oriented advocacy organizations, speaks for all higher and lower primates, typically endorsing humane agendas where primates are at risk, as in research institutions or species endangerment in precarious environmental situations.[5][6][7][8][9]

The event is increasingly practiced by primate advocacy nonprofits in several nations. AOL News has covered the observance each year since 2005, and YahooNews has more recently begun reporting the event.

In 2007, according to Animal Defenders International (ADI), "‘Monkey in a Cage’ by Maria Daines topped the Indie music chart in the week following International Primate Day after a campaign enabling people to download via our websites."[10]

In 2016, Animal Defenders International (ADI) received a celebrity endorsement from Moby for their attempt to help the Barbary macaques for that year's event.[11]

Overview of primates

Primates are a very large family of about 200 species, and include great apes, monkeys, lemurs, et al. Statements on great apes which focus largely or entirely on apes would not include all primates.

Significance of primate advocacy

The release of apes from biomedical laboratories started in Europe and Japan about fifteen years before that movement emerged in North America.

Developments in Europe

During the past several decades of primate advocacy, the Great Ape Project has emerged, and movements in Europe have seen calls for extended legal protections to Great Apes, the higher primates.

Developments in Japan

See Japanese macaque

Developments in the United States

Withdrawal of financial support by NIH in the United States

A study commissioned by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and conducted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded in a report (see report brief[12]) released on December 15, 2011 that ‘while the chimpanzee has been a valuable animal model in past research, most current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary’. The primary recommendation is that the use of chimpanzees in research be guided by a set of principles and criteria, in effect to greatly limit government-funded research using chimpanzees. Falling short of calling for the out-right ban of using chimpanzees for research, the report acknowledged that new emerging, or re-emerging diseases may require the use of chimpanzees, echoing Professor Colin Blakemore’s concern.

Francis Collins, Director of NIH announced on the same day the report was released that he accepted the recommendations and will develop the implementation plan which includes the forming of an expert committee to review all submitted grant applications and projects already underway involving the use of chimpanzees. Furthermore, no new grant applications using chimpanzees will be reviewed until further notice.[13]

On 21 September 2012, NIH announced that 110 chimpanzees owned by the government will be retired. NIH owns about 500 chimpanzees for research, this move signifies the first step to wind down NIH’s investment in chimpanzee research, according to Francis Collins. Currently housed at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana, ten of the retired chimpanzees were to be transferred to the chimpanzee sanctuary Chimp Haven, while the rest were to go to Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.[14] However, concerns over the chimpanzee’s status in the Texas Biomedical Research Institute as ‘research ineligible’ rather than ‘retired’ prompted NIH to reconsider the plan; it announced on 17 October 2012 that as many chimpanzees as possible would be relocated to Chimp Haven by August 2013, and that eventually all 110 would be moved there.[15]

On 22 January 2013, a NIH task force released a report calling for the government to retire most of the chimpanzees the U.S. government support. The panel concluded that the animals provide little benefit in biomedical discoveries except in a few disease cases which can be supported by a small population of 50 primates for future research. Other approaches such as genetically altered mice should be developed and refined.[16][17]

On 13 November 2013, the US Congress and Senate passed ‘The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection Act’, approving the funding to expand the capacity of Chimp Haven and other chimpanzee sanctuaries, thus allowing the transfer of almost all of the apes owned by the federal government to live in a more natural and group environment than in the laboratory. The transfer is expected to take five years when all but 50 chimpanzees, which will remain with the NIH, will be ‘retired’.[18]

Declaration on Great Apes

The Great Ape Project is campaigning to have the United Nations endorse a Declaration on Great Apes.[19] This would extend what the project calls the "community of equals" to include chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The declaration seeks to extend to non-human great apes the protection of three basic interests: the right to life, the protection of individual liberty, and the prohibition of torture.

Right to life

The declaration states that members of the community of equals, which includes humans, may not be killed except in certain strictly defined circumstances such as self-defense.[19]

Protection of individual liberty

The declaration states that members of the community of equals are not to be deprived of their liberty, and are entitled to immediate release where there has been no form of due process. Under the proposed declaration, the detention of great apes who have not been convicted of any crime or who are not criminally liable should be permitted only where it can be shown that the detention is in their own interests or is necessary to protect the public. The declaration says there must be a right of appeal, either directly or through an advocate, to a judicial tribunal.

Prohibition of torture

The declaration prohibits the torture, defined as the deliberate infliction of severe pain, on any great ape, whether wantonly or because of a perceived benefit to others. Under International Human Rights Law this is a jus cogens principle and under all major human rights documents it cannot at any time be derogated by any State.

Criticism

At present, the Declaration on Great Apes is not generally supported by all primatologists.

Several organizations, including GRASP, the Great Apes Survival Project, are more concerned with apes in the wild than with legal issues surrounding the relatively few apes in captivity.

See also

Wikinews has related news:

Primate trade:

General:

Philosophers concerned with primates

References

  1. ↑ 2015 - Beneveniste, A. Today is International Primate Day!, AOL.com, September 1, 2015, 5:00AM
  2. ↑ 2010 - International Primate Day - 1st September Annually, Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, May 31, 2010
  3. ↑ 2009 - International Primate Day - September 1, 2009, Animal Rights Africa blog, Friday, 17 JULY 2009
  4. ↑ International Primate Day: Here are the 10 most endangered primates on the planet. Staff Reporter, International Business Times, YahooNews. August 31, 2016
  5. ↑ 2012, 2015 - International Primate Day 2012, Animal Defenders International, Posted: 31 August 2012. Updated: 21 April 2015
  6. ↑ 2013 - Guidi, R. Defending animal science: what’s the next step? Science plug: Just another scientific blog. August 30, 2013
  7. ↑ 2016 - Happy International Primate Day! Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, September 1, 2016
  8. ↑ 2016 - Gershowitz, E. International Primate Day, The Horn Book, September 1, 2016
  9. ↑ ADI highlights from International Primate Day
  10. ↑ Music for monkeys, 23 November 2007
  11. ↑ 2016 - Garrett, T.K. For International Primate Day September 1, Moby Teams Up With ADI To ‘Back The Macaque’ And Help Endangered Primates. September 1, 2016
  12. ↑ "Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research: Assessing the Necessity". iom.edu. Institute of Medicine. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Statement by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins on the Institute of Medicine report addressing the scientific need for the use of chimpanzees in research". National Institutes of Health. December 15, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  14. ↑ Greenfieldboyce, Nell (21 September 2012). "Government Officials Retire Chimpanzees From Research". NPR. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  15. ↑ Lisa Myers and Diane Beasley (17 October 2012). "Goodall praises NIH decision to remove some chimps from research, but controversy erupts over their next home". nbcnews.com. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  16. ↑ Flinn, Ryan (23 January 2013). "U.S. Panel Calls for Limits on Medical Use of Chimpanzees". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  17. ↑ Working Group on the Use of Chimpanzees in National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Supported Research (22 January 2013). "Council of Councils Working Group on the Use of Chimpanzees in NIH-Supported Research Report" (PDF). NIH.
  18. ↑ Dizard, Wilson (15 November 2013). "Federal government to transfer laboratory chimps to sanctuaries". Aljazeera America. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  19. 1 2 Declaration on Great Apes Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine, Great Ape Project
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