Delovno telo ameriškega National Institites of Health (NIH) je včeraj priporočilo, da NIH upokoji večino od 700 šimpanzov, ki jih podpira za raziskave. To bo končalo mnogo znanstvenih raziskav, za katere je skupina ugotovila, da so nepotrebne.
Today's 84-page report is a response to a December 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report that found that most research on chimps was unnecessary. Today's working group, part of the NIH Council of Councils, was asked by NIH Director Francis Collins to help NIH implement the IOM report, which laid out specific criteria for when chimp studies are justified. For example, such a study should take place only if it could not be done ethically in humans or in another animal model and if the chimps were maintained in an ethologically appropriate environment.
After reviewing 22 NIH-funded research studies using chimps, the working group found that half should be shut down. That includes six of nine biomedical projects that are using 81 of 93 chimps in those studies; only three of these projects, all involving infectious agents or immunology, should continue. The working group also recommended ending five of 13 comparative genomics and behavioral studies that use 290 of about 300 animals. NIH would continue to fund seven of an additional eight projects supporting care of chimp colonies; some overlap with the research studies.
Other projects could continue if they are modified to meet new criteria for living conditions laid out in the report. For example, each chimp should have at least 1000 square feet of outdoor space and live with no fewer than six other animals.
Več na Science News.
Oznake: J.Z., raznarije