By Lisa Myers and Diane Beasley
Rock Center
Rosie and Ken are 30-year-old chimpanzees who've never known a day of freedom. They were born in research labs and have spent almost their entire lives being experimented on by scientists in search of cures for human diseases.
These two chimpanzees have been infected with viruses, darted, and sedated more than 100 times, and put through dozens of sometimes painful procedures. For years, Rosie repeatedly was given a drug that caused her seizures.
Today, these aging chimps are living in large enclosures called primadomes at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, available to be used for still more experiments. When Rosie and Ken and a dozen other chimps were shipped to the lab, in 2010, after a 10-year hiatus from invasive testing, it provoked a public outcry.
Chimpanzee 'Ken' in his enclosure.
We met Rosie and Ken not long ago, when, after months of negotiation, Texas Biomed gave NBC News unprecedented access to the highly secretive world of primate research.
Dr. Robert Lanford, who has experimented on chimps for 27 years, said he wants the public to see what it's like at his research lab today. "The American people has had the wrong opinion that these animals are in little bitty cages in a dark room with no windows," he said. "I want them to see who we are and how we take care of the animals and why we're doing it."
Dr. John VandeBerg, director of the primate research center, says chimpanzees here are treated "with the utmost of reverence," and have a "high quality of life."
But that quality of life is a matter of intense debate and part of the emotional argument over whether experimenting on chimps is morally and scientifically justified to save human lives. Also at issue: When is enough enough? When do chimps who've given much in the name of science get to retire to the relative freedom of a sanctuary?
One reason chimpanzee research is so controversial is that these amazing creatures share 98 percent of our DNA and have many human traits, including emotions ranging from joy to sadness and fear.
"Remember we're talking about our closest living relatives with brains so sophisticated that they can do a lot of problems on a computer with a touchpad, faster than secondary school students. That's how bright they are," said famed anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall in an interview with NBC News.
Dr. Goodall has worked tirelessly for decades to improve the lives of lab chimps and to persuade scientists and the government that this research should be banned.
"All invasive research is torture," Goodall says. "And it's not just the procedures. It's the imprisonment. It's being kept in a small space with no choice. You just are there. You're powerless."
Over the four days our team spent at Texas Biomed, our cameras were required to shoot from a "safe zone," since many of the chimps, like Ken and Rosie, are infected with viruses such as Hepatitis C and HIV. So to get close-ups of the chimps, we built special equipment to attach small cameras to the cages. At first, the chimps tried to remove them — and then, were fascinated by seeing their own reflections in the camera lens.
We saw three different types of housing where the chimps live, enrichment which involves activities to keep them engaged, and their interaction with behaviorists. We observed how the chimpanzees are trained to voluntarily present their own body parts to receive shots. We also were allowed to watch one of Lanford's experiments in which a chimp who'd been infected with the Hepatitis C virus was sedated and then bled. Lanford has been working to find a vaccine for over a decade.
Testing on chimps has saved lives in the past: it helped produce the Hepatitis B vaccine which is now given to children at birth.
But scientists disagree about whether chimps are needed to find a cure for Hepatitis C. Lanford says testing on chimps will save human lives. Chimps are crucial, he says, because they're the only animals that can be infected with the virus. Unlike humans, they don't develop liver disease.
Scientists here also argue that they provide a quality of life for chimpanzees which is just as good as a sanctuary, and that instead of being retired, chimps like Rosie and Ken should live out their days in the labs, in case they are needed for research in the future.
"I think of the chimpanzees in the same way that I think of a library. There are many books in the library that will never be used this year or next year," VandeBerg says. "Many of them might never be used again. But we don't know which ones will be needed tomorrow, next year or the year after."
Anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall.
Goodall says that's a terrible idea. "Most of them are just stockpiled. Most of them are not being used. They're just there in case maybe one day we might want to use them again," she said. "I definitely think at a certain point, they deserve to be freed from this kind of life of servitude."
Whether a chimp gets to retire is entirely up to the labs and the government. There is no ethical standard or uniform criteria.
According to Goodall, "the tragedy is that some of the chimps in the labs know nothing else. They have never tasted any kind of freedom in their lives. Freedom to choose, freedom to go where they want."
To see what life looks like for lab chimps lucky enough to be deemed no longer needed for research, we spent two days at the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Shreveport, Louisiana. It's aptly known as "Chimp Haven."
In the back woods of Louisiana, for the first time in most of their lives, the chimps can walk on grass, swing in the trees ... and forage in the forest.
Dr. Linda Brent founded Chimp Haven, after spending 16 years as a behaviorist at Texas Biomed. "Everything we do here, from the way the facility was built to the things we give to the chimpanzees and the way we manage the facility, every decision we make is for the welfare of the chimpanzees," she says.
Additional Resources: For more information on the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Chimp Haven, click here. For more information on the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, click here. For more information on Jane Goodall’s work and the Jane Goodall Institute, click here. To learn about a group of lab chimpanzees that Goodall helped get placed in the Fauna sanctuary outside of Montreal, Canada, click here. To learn more about the Great Ape Protection Act that Goodall is working to pass, click here.
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Why is it that because humans can, they do; We seem to be an ugly species. Animals of any kind, including rats, should not be used for research.
We have no moral right to use other species for research. All animals have their own right to exist and their own reason for being. If you want to continue research use people; they have the capacity to say NO.
"Animals have no voice, no choice! This practice is sickening!" Reading these comments I realize how sad and totally upside down our society has become. People are so passionate about these "animals" having no voice, no choice, etc.. and yet we continue to abort babies in the millions. This makes me so sad. When the interviewer was asking these questions the parallels to aborting babies in the womb were so obvious. But yet, we live in a culture that worships sex, and has made ourselves into our own "gods". A "woman's choice" justifies murder and our volunteered deception skews our moral compass to the point we refuse to do what it is morally right. "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power." II Timothy 3
Humans have no right to use and abuse animals for any purpose. Animals have their own right to exist and to live their life just as we humans do. If the abusers must conduct experiments to "further life" let them use humans; humans have the ability to object and say NO!
Let's combine a couple of Rock Center's stories. 1: Voting Americans are frustrated that Senators and Representitives are bought and paid for. + 2: Many Americans do not see a necessity to continue to utilize chimpanzees for research. Equals: A challenge Senators and Representitives: Prove these constituents wrong, vote to end chimpanzee research AND demonstrate Washington CAN work together. Naturally this action would tell pharmaceutical companies you won't be paid off by them to do their bidding. It's a reelection trifecta.
With all the human beings sick with the very diseases these innocent creatures are infected with, there is no need to take their lives from them and use them as the labs still do. It is not necessary. As a former cancer patient, I was part of a drug trial. It is time to close down the chimp labs, they are extraneous.
I am writing to the NIH and my congressmen and senators next.
Having read the opinions of so many who wrote intelligently and emotionally I feel I must express regret that the Carbon based life forms existing in the 'now' that is fleeting and the 'here' that is speeding throught the vast expance of this (?) Universe the rythm and rhym of the individual mind has only it's own 'Free Will' actions to express. We all do as we all decide what we do and the proposition here stated is only related to the action each entity of identity choses to do. Human beings are the highest form of sentient expression, I may be wrong, we can't know. Think what you think, but do as you must do if you are motivated to. The opinions expressed are posted on this man made electronic Silicon based semi aware mechinism. Opinions are fine but mostly a waste of the pace we travel through space. Actions of creation are the children of need. Feel as you will, but do what you gotta do. Of evil can come good and of good can result in evil. The balance is as difficult as the choice to listen to your inner voice and act hoping your action will be enlightening and not a burden. In the end it matters not, depending on what the future unfolds the human race will last in this place not much beyond the next 'Ice Age'. No worries Mates, do not concern yourselves with the fates of any other living things beyond the living thing that you are. It all is what it all is. Courage in the face of death, take a breath and break bread with the entity that is considered the 'Angle of Death'. If you have the fearlessness enjoy some wine with it as well. Look towards the light and keep in mind for that shine there is shadow.
I noticed at the end of the segment on about freedom of chimpanzees, that they showed a chimp being moved on a stretcher. I noticed that the chip had an endotracheal tube. Now, who was providing the proper airway and ventilation's for that patient. I didn't see anyone giving that patient any ventilation's. So what is the degree of brain damage that patient now has. Yes, I referred to the chimpanzee as a patient. He or she was and is a patient
Just because the animal had an endotracheal tube in place does not mean it had no respiratory drive. The only time they would need to provide ventilation is if the animal was not breathing on its own. If you watch the video closely, the animal's chest was moving, indicating it was breathing fine on its own. Most likely they had just sedated it with injectable drugs, and they were transporting it to a room that had inhalation anesthesia equipment to maintain the sedation through the endotracheal tube. Basically, the animal was fine, it was not in any danger, and it is extremely unlikely that it suffered any lasting effects from this transportation. The video shows a common practice in all of veterinary medicine - even involving your family dog, Fido. For the short time needed to transfer an animal from a prep area to a surgical suite (or imaging center as was probably occurring here), animals are not ventilated even though they have endotracheal tubes in place.
I'm glad your not my vet, or taking care of my child....... Rewatched. I would also count the rise and fall of the chest for me. Because after rewatching I couldn't give you a no.
I'll admit the video is not ideal for observing respiration. I feel like I can see the thorax moving, but it is a short clip, and it is not centered on the animal's chest. So, it is probably just as hard to determine that the animal is not breathing on its own. In any case, my point was that basically every single time an animal goes in for a procedure that requires inhalation anesthesia (in a lab setting or at your local vet's office), there is a small time interval where there is an endotracheal tube inserted into the trachea without being attached to an ambu bag or ventilator. If you watch the video past the initial transportation, this animal's endotracheal tube was connected to some tubing (probably an inhalation anesthesia machine) while being prepped for an MRI. I'm inclined to give the vet staff at the research facility enough credit to know whether or not their animal needs ventilatory support. Obviously, not everyone will agree with this opinion.
"Man is just an ape--a naked ape in fact..." -Desmond Morris
They have GIVEN their lives without a choice in the matter....it is time we REPAY this debt.....FREE THEM ASAP ! And I am NOT eating an animal after this posting !
I think we should retire all chimps and use prisoners instead. That way they could contribute to society instead of just being a huge burden on the American taxpayer!
While I think the testing of various research materials on animals is important, I fail to see how this piece of "journalism"can be considered in formulating an opinion on the specific subjects in it without mentionimg that chimps and other apes are ENDANGERED species. It is simply an irresponsible omission.
Doesn't it speak volumes that we are one of only two countries in the world still using chimps for research? It's both shameful and arrogant, and It's time to stop this outdated and unnecessary invasive testing on our closest relative. To all of you who care, speak up, and demand this practice end and allow these magnificent creatures to live out their lives with dignity in sanctuaries. They deserve nothing less.
A panel of scientists--many of the concerned with research on chimpanzees--agreed that most research done on chimpanzees should be stopped. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reconsidering why only chimpanzees used for commercial purposes (including in laboratories) are not "endangered," and federal legislation has more than 150 sponsors to ban invasive research on chimpanzees. If chimpanzees were "happy" and "essential" to future advances in human health research, why would these issues even be considered? This article sugar-coated the issue by showing two chimpanzees NOT being used for current research, trying to denying that invasive research is painful, life threatening, and that many times the subjects ARE kept in solitary cages without seeing the light of day or engaging in social interactions with other chimpanzees. And why do we owe chimpanzees a great quality of life AFTER they are retired from research and not while they are being used for research? This was a very disappointing piece, despite the testimony of Dr. Jane Goodall. Is presenting videos of chimpanzees playing in outdoor enclosures or being wheeled into sterile rooms for blood draws really the extent of what invasive research does to these animals? I don't think so.
The people who oppose animal testing are those who do not produce safe, new medicines for human use.
It is a shame that we do not understand what the concept of Humanity is about. Enough is enough. I do not believe in animal testing, BUT since it its obvious that it is going to continue, then at some point the subjects of this abuse should be given a chance to live out the rest of their lives without the continual proding and procedures they have endured for so long. Let these Chimpanzees and other animals like them have a chance to live the rest of their lives being happy, cared for and loved. GET THEM OUT OF THE LABORATORY!
Most scientist agree that animal testing of any kind is not needed. To compare live animals to books is ignorant. We are talking about chimps here but what about the makeup you put on your face. Most large cosmetic companies use rabbits, dogs, etc. to test unnecessarily on animals. It is time we evolve into a caring society for all creatures. Then maybe it will roll over into the human species. I know not everyone is a vegetarian but that doesn't mean we have to keep livestock crammed in pens either. But that is another topic. It is time to let these creatures live instead of just existing.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated. Gandhi
Why do I have the feeling that those scenes from a "kind" research lab aren't the whole story -- I feel as perhaps the Red Cross team felt after examining Hitler's concentration camps. Dirty and not quite willing to accept the window dressing. And if, in fact, only five of these animals, infected with horrid diseases, have died over the past decade as this "scientist" states, then why are they still there? Sounds like they already have the cure and now need to test on humans. Anthropocentrism at its finest has condemned millions of sentient creatures to a life of pain and early death so the human population can continue to expand at the expense of other life. Perhaps Malthus had the right idea all along? Certainly JS Mill was wrong when he believed education and compassion would limit the world's population. My only complaint about last night's program was that in centering on chimps, you ignored all the other millions of animals in research labs dying to cure diseases that humans, for the most part, have brought upon themselves. The scientist displayed his complete uncaring, selfish nature when he compared these creatures to library books and then attempted to say he "respected" them. Now really! I respect books, too, and would never burn one, but to give an inanimate thing a value equal to a living creature? What he was saying was that all that mattered was that they remain available for cruel use when he so desired to use them. In all our progress in so many areas, if he's so intelligent, then he should have an alternative method for continuing his research rather than this. Thank you for stirring up the discussion.
The small lab cages used in the past to house the chimps were replaced because activists exposed them and people were outraged by the cruelty. The practices of the past didn't just change because suddenly the scientists had a change of heart. They were forced to change.
Similarly, there needs to be some relief for these chimps who have lived all their lives in labs. After 30 years you would think that an animal deserves some sense of freedom in nature if at all possible. With the sanctuary it is possible to provide some kind of retirement.
When the scientist in charge of the lab was questioned why he was unwilling to release the two older chimps since they weren't even being used in tests, his response was that perhaps they might be needed in the future like a book you might keep in your library. Of course an animal is not a thing.
But what I think what he meant to say was, these animals are our private property and we can do with them as we please. That's a terrible attitude to take towards any living thing -- although perhaps it's necessary for a scientist to have such a hard hearted personality in order to be able to "use" these animals for research, to infect them and subject them to experiments. However, at some point we as a society must intervene and say, no more.
I appreciate the great job NBC did in presenting this issue and hope that the policy towards the chimpanzees in labs will be changed to reflect more appreciation and love.
At one point the scientist was touting how well cared for the chimps were in his lab, as if to argue that they didn't need to be released to a sanctuary. And what if they are needed in the future?
I thought why not keep these older chimps in a sanctuary and bring them back if they were absolutely needed? At that point I realized the lab probably would be unable to reintroduce the animals to confinement and cages again after they had tasted freedom. So the treatment the chimps receive in scientific labs isn't so great, is it?
It really is cruel to keep them confined their entire lives.
I apologize ahead of time for the length or if I am off track but wow reading all these posts has brought this on….
intelligent beings and uncivilized animals....which is which?
How is that the earth and all of it’s species (except humans) live in a systematic, co-dependent, perfectly balanced harmony and humans do everything in their power to work against that, against nature, to in fact destroy the laws of nature. We are fighting against the cycle of life, against having a balance of this earth. Soon there will be more people on this earth then it can support, there are 7 billion of us, what makes us so important? Are we trying to be invisible, immortal?
We consume, exhaust, abuse and take for granted all of our resources until we will have none left. Who are the idiots then? If we continue on this path, there will be no rainforests left to provide us the roots of where all this modern medicine came from, no animals because there is nowhere for them to live, because we have killed them all for our benefit in some way, shape or form.
We lack care and compassion for everything around us except ourselves. Even as a human race we constantly fight against each other. We choose to live in a world of greed and power, where one person, one religion, one race or species always has to be more superior to the other. That it is more tragic if someone died from your country then another. Who the hell do we think we are? As I read… “Infect the prison inmates instead” , has our species learned nothing? Seriously. It seems it is our mission as a species to destroy ourselves and our home that provides us so much. We are so ignorant that we think our greed will have no consequences.
Question: Have we no gratitude for the breath we breathe each day and the things this planet is offering us? Answer: First world countries as a whole..definitely not. I come from one and I choose to live in a third world country. The difference of gratitude, peace and happiness is astounding and not in favour of what most would seem to think.
Does any other species torture each other, or kill and eat more then they need? We’ve been doing it for centuries. How is it we think these animals are here for us to exploit? They were a happy species in ridiculously larger numbers in the African forest until we came along with our guns and shot them down out of the trees, put them in a cage and brought them on a plane to any other place but their home. We bring wild animals out of their environment, we cage them, we use them for amusement, we torture them, and if they dare present danger to a human being, we kill them. Why are these chimps or any other species for that matter anywhere but their natural homes? Why do we need to know, fix and control everything to make it ‘better’? When will learn to control our never satisfied egos?
Comparing any living creature to a book is mind-blowing, it sent chills up my spine. They say they treat every animal with respect and care, how do you feel when you have a cold? the flu? How about Cancer, HIV or any other potentially killing virus? They think these perfectly healthy ‘books’ won’t mind feeling like absolute @!$%# for the rest of their lives? This is called respect and care? I call this humans inflicting torture on another living being. We do it to each other and we especially have no regard for anything that is not human.
In this case we rationalize our actions because it may find a cure to cancer for us ever so valuable humans. This is not their (chimps or any other animals) battle to fight. I had cancer as a young adult. Today would I pump myself full of chemotherapy and radiation? Hell no, what a horrible experience, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I would do what I could to fight the disease, because yes it is my instinct to want to survive, I would use all that nature has provided and if I shall die, then I shall die. I won’t be the first or last. Loss and death is something us humans try to avoid at all costs. Sometimes it happens earlier then we expect or want but death is a part of life, in case we’ve forgotten it will happen to us all eventually, unless we find the cure that is.
Look at a much bigger picture, there are 7 billion of us, why do we need a cure for every disease that presents itself? Do we think they are going to just stop coming? Do we not get that mother nature will always find a way to control population on this earth. I think the planet has demonstrated enough in recent years that we are not superhuman, nor indestructible, no matter how much we think we can push the limits. Why do we want to? I don’t want to live until I’m 100 something years old. I don’t want a clone of myself running around after I’m gone and I certainly don’t want to torture any living being for my benefit. When my time comes I will die, just like everything else. It’s nature’s way. Who are we to fight it?
What an incredibly difficult story to watch. Way to go Lisa Myers by putting Dr. VandeBerg in his place when he compared chimpanzees to books. Maybe we should send Dr. VandeBerg to OZ to have him tested to see if he has a brain.
Thank you Jane Goodall for all your care and compasion for these incredible animals.
Thank you Lisa, Brian, Diane and team - you always do a wonderful job.
You can't use two mutually exclusive and opposing arguments to defend your position. They're like us so we need to experiment on them to save lives. They're not like us so it's OK to experiment on them to save lives.
Dr VandeBerg was unbelievably condescending and patronizing and, I'm afraid, stupid ... not unintelligent stupid, but the kind of stupidity that derives from bias, narrow mindedness, and hubris. I KNOW they're chimps and not humans, and I don't wish them to be otherwise. I value them for precisely who they are as chimps, for their intrinsic value apart from any human validation. And for what it's worth, Dr VandeBerg, I do not eat sausage.
I’m old and cynical enough to believe this has more to do with money than saving lives; but either way, we can still do research and find cures for disease without experimenting on laboratory animals.
Dean, chimps are very human like. They do have emotions. they laugh and they cry. they get depressed. They have 98 percent of our human DNA but our immune system is not the same.So they infected a lot of chimps with HIV, they are positive carriers of the disease but they do not get AIDS. So now you have chimps that have to be taken care of with biohazardous suits due to this.This is just down right inhumane to do this to chimps and it need to be stopped. They all need to be retired and sent to sanctuaries. Chimp Haven is an awesome place to visit and learn more of what they have gone through. Also Save the Chimps is another fantastic sanctuary that have given 300 chimps a great place to live. I know I for one will keep contacting my senators in Washington to get this stopped and stop the sale of babies chimps who are torn from their mothers at birth and not allowed to be raised with the mothers as God intended.
Oh sure this place looked a lot better than the one in New Iberia La. of them not using the dart guns and giving them shots but still what happens that chimps passed out and falls hard on a concert floor. And the notion of them being kept in labs just in case they are needed is just down right insane on the part of those so called research doctors. The 1,000 plus chimps need to be all retired and allowed to live their life in a great fantastic place such as Chimp Haven or Save the Chimps. They can not speak for themselves but thank God that their are humans that are willing to be their voices.
Why interviewing those people even once was not brought up what was said in the first very few seconds of the segment - "what is your comment to the fact - these experiments are ONLY allowed in 2 countries in the world"!!!???
Thanks Brian for bringing this issue up!
There are over 1.000 chimps in research labs. we are only seeing one of them not using the small cages. How do we know that they all have a better place as the one at the shown on this program. And to compare a living , breathing. animal to a book was like I just wanted to reach in and slap the man. Let him go through some of the testing that they put chimps through and see if he would still have the same thoughts.
I found this segment to be untruthful and biased towards labeling animal research as cruel. I thought that even the interviewer proposed questions in an accusatory manner that left little room for a legitimate answer to defend actions. These are some points I think that need to be pointed out which were not addressed properly:
1. Invasive research needed to be defined in the case of this segment. Even a blood draw from an animal is considered invasive research. For the general public knowledge, this should have been discussed considering most people think the worst when the word "invasive" is used. These animals are under strict regulations for what can and cannot happen to them. Obviously if the animal is 58 years old they were getting great care to still be living and a traumatic procedure was not being used.
2. These chimps were not taken from their endogenous environment. They were born and raised in captivity. They have the best care for them. If one is against this then their opposition should also be directed towards a zoo or helping to end black market purchasing and owning of chimpanzees to unqualified owners.
3. As a fellow research scientist, Jane Goodall should know that in a researcher's code of conduct, we are to be studying projects that better the human condition. That is why you were allowed to receive government funds by tax payers as a researcher. Although, it is lovely to be hanging out with chimpanzees all day for your job, you were originally there to study behavior which could also apply to other disciples.
4. The segment should have tied in more pictures and videos of the out comes for what the simple blood draws and benign infections were contributing towards. Perhaps a person/child dying who receives a life-saving treatment because of this discovery?