Chimps Used for AIDS Medical Research Will Receive Retirement Facilities
President Clinton Wednesday signed into law a bill creating "lifetime sanctuaries" for the retirement of chimpanzees used in government-sponsored medical research, the Associated Press reports. The law will require the Department of Health and Human Services to work with a not-for-profit organization to "ensure a secure retirement" that will "meet their lifetime needs for shelter and care." The chimps, most of whom have been infected with diseases like hepatitis and HIV for medical research purposes, cannot return to the wild following their service, but many still live up to 60 years. An estimated 1,000 chimps are being held in six federal biomedical research institutions around the country, at a cost of $20 to $30 per day per animal. The sanctuary is expected to cost only $8 to $15 per day to care for the animals, who were overbred at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic (Riechmann, Associated Press, 12/20).
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