Erwin / Oral (SAGA)

Great Apes in America: Present Status and Future Prospects.

J. Erwin, K. Landon, and K. Smith, BIOQUAL, Inc., 9600 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, Maryland, USA 20850-3336, and Foundation for Comparative and Conservation Biology, Frostburg, Maryland USA.

     Data will be presented on the captive population of great apes in the USA, including bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. Current information will be presented according to the type of holding institution (zoological garden, research center, sanctuary, universities, or other). Examples will be given of the kinds of research in which great apes are involved. These range from language/communication/cognition studies to vaccine development research for viral pneumonia, several kinds of viral hepatitis, and AIDS. Regulations regarding great ape care and housing under the Animal Welfare Act will be described, along with additional recommendations by special committees of the National Academy of Sciences. Examples of housing conditions in zoos and research centers will be shown. Policies regarding the use of chimpanzees in research will be described, including the status of prohibitions against lethal or painful procedures. There is a perception that some of the chimpanzees in research centers are surplus to research needs. The efforts of several organizations to provide for the "surplus" individuals will be mentioned. The policy statement of the American Society of Primatologists regarding long-term care of chimpanzees and their involvement in research will be presented. Progress toward implementation of the ASP and NAC/NRC recommendations will be described.The information presented was gathered in part with support from NIH grant AG14308, the Great Ape Aging Project.

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