H.R. 1326: Great Ape Protection Act of 2009

This version: Introduced in House. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the House for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill available on this website.

HR 1326 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1326

To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great apes, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 5, 2009

Mr. TOWNS (for himself, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BARTLETT, Mrs. BONO MACK, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. FARR, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MASSA, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STARK, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

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A BILL

To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great apes, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Great Ape Protection Act of 2009’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Great apes are highly intelligent and social animals and research laboratory environments involving invasive research cannot meet their complex social and psychological needs.

(2) Invasive research performed on great apes, and the breeding of great apes for these purposes, are economic in nature and substantially affect interstate commerce.

(3) The majority of invasive research and testing conducted on great apes in the United States is for the end purpose of developing drugs, pharmaceuticals, and other products to be sold in the interstate market.

(4) The total costs associated with great ape research have a direct economic impact on interstate commerce.

(5) An overwhelming majority of invasive research procedures performed on great apes involves some element of interstate commerce, such that great apes, equipment, and researchers have traveled across State lines.

(6) The regulation of animals and activities as provided in this Act are necessary to effectively regulate interstate and foreign commerce.

(7) The National Research Council report entitled ‘Chimpanzees in Research--Strategies for their Ethical Care, Management, and Use’ concluded that--

(A) there is a ‘moral responsibility’ for the long-term care of chimpanzees used for scientific research;

(B) there should be a moratorium on further chimpanzee breeding;

(C) euthanasia should not be used as a means to control the size of the great ape population; and

(D) sanctuaries should be created to house chimpanzees in a manner consistent with high standards of lifetime care, social enrichment, and cognitive development.

(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are to--

(1) prohibit invasive research on great apes and the use of Federal funding of such research, both within and outside of the United States;

(2) prohibit the transport of great apes for purposes of invasive research;

(3) prohibit the breeding of great apes for purposes of invasive research; and

(4) require the provision of lifetime care of great apes that are owned by or under the control of the Federal Government in a suitable sanctuary through the permanent retirement of such apes.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act, the following terms apply:

(1) GREAT APE- The term ‘great ape’ includes a chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan, or gibbon.

(2) INVASIVE RESEARCH-

(A) The term ‘invasive research’ means any research that may cause death, bodily injury, pain, distress, fear, injury, or trauma to a great ape, including--

(i) the testing of any drug or intentional exposure to a substance that may be detrimental to the health or psychological well-being of a great ape;

(ii) research that involves penetrating or cutting the body or removing body parts, restraining, tranquilizing, or anesthetizing a great ape; or

(iii) isolation, social deprivation, or other experimental physical manipulations that may be detrimental to the health or psychological well-being of a great ape.

(B) Such term does not include--

(i) close observation of natural or voluntary behavior of a great ape, provided that the research does not require an anesthetic or sedation event to collect data or record observations;

(ii) the temporary separation of a great ape from its social group, leaving and returning, by its own volition;

(iii) post-mortem examination of a great ape that was not killed for the purpose of examination or research; and

(iv) the administration of an annual or other necessary physical exam by a licensed veterinarian for the individual great ape’s well-being, that may include collection of blood, hair, or tissue samples conducted for the well-being of that great ape, the ape’s social group, or the species.

(3) PERMANENT RETIREMENT-

(A) The term ‘permanent retirement’ means that a great ape is placed in a suitable sanctuary that will provide for the lifetime care of the great ape and such great ape will not be used in further invasive research.

(B) Such term does not include euthanasia.

(4) PERSON- The term ‘person’ means--

(A) an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other private or not-for-profit entity;

(B) any officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, a State, municipality, or political subdivision of a State; or

(C) any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(5) SUITABLE SANCTUARY- The term ‘suitable sanctuary’ means--

(A) a sanctuary system under section 481C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287a-3a); or

(B) a comparable privately funded sanctuary approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS.

(a) Invasive Research Prohibition- No person shall conduct invasive research on a great ape.

(b) Prohibition on Related Activities- No person shall knowingly breed, possess, rent, loan, donate, purchase, sell, house, maintain, lease, borrow, transport, move, deliver, or receive a great ape for the purpose of conducting invasive research on such great ape.

(c) Prohibition on Federal Funding for Invasive Research- No Federal funds may be used to conduct invasive research on a great ape both within and outside the United States.

(d) Exemption- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or prevent individualized medical care performed on a great ape by a licensed veterinarian for the well-being of the great ape, including surgical procedures or chemical treatments for birth control.

SEC. 5. RETIREMENT.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services or any other appropriate Federal authority shall provide for the permanent retirement of all great apes owned or under the control of the Federal Government that are being maintained in any facility for the purpose of breeding for, holding for, or conducting invasive research.

SEC. 6. CIVIL PENALTIES.

In addition to any other penalties that may apply under law, whoever violates any provision of this Act shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. Each day that such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.

In the event that any one of the provisions in this Act shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions of this Act, and this Act shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable provisions had never been included in this Act.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATES.

(a) Prohibition of Research and Funding- The prohibitions under subsections (a) and (c) of section (4) shall take effect not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Other Requirements- All other requirements and prohibitions in this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

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