Chimpanzees and retirement

The subject of sanctuaries for chimpanzees has lately become the topic of a great deal of discussion (Brent, Butler, & Haberstroh, 1997; Committee on Long-Term Care of Chimpanzees, 1997; Dyke, Williams-Blangero, Mamelka, & Goodwin, 1995; Peterson & Goodall, 1993). In the United States, laboratories that use chimpanzees in research are facing a housing crisis. An increase in captive births caused by the initiation of the National Chimpanzee Breeding and Research Program in 1986 (Hobson, Graham, & Rowell, 1991), coupled with the diminished use of chimpanzees as experimental subjects, have led to a large population of chimpanzees considered to be surplus to demand (Blood, Wolfle, & Whitney, 1992). These chimpanzees, as well as an unknown number from the private sector, are candidates for what is currently being called retirement.