The ethical case for changing the way we treat nonhuman animals is gaining ground. Two federal policy developments last year are evidence that U.S. officials are responding to arguments for elevating the moral and legal status of certain species: chimpanzees, gorillas, and other great apes. The policy actions show that society is beginning to see these species, our closest nonhuman relatives, as less like properly and more like beings entitled to respect and protection.One significant development is a congressional bill called the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011.The bill is intended to "phase out invasive research on great apes and the use of federal funding of such research, both inside and outside of the United States." It would ban "any research that may cause death, injury, pain, distress, fear, or trauma," permitting only observational studies of "natural or voluntary behavior" and biological sample collection in the course of a physical examination for the ape's own well-being.
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