I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1326 
To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great apes, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2009 
Mr. TOWNS (for himself, Mr. REICHERT, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BARTLETT, Mrs. 
BONO MACK, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CAMPBELL, 
Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. FARR, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. 
LOBIONDO, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mrs. MALONEY, 
Mr. MASSA, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. SMITH 
of New Jersey, Mr. STARK, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great 
apes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Ape Protection 
Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Great apes are highly intelligent and social 
animals and research laboratory environments in-
volving invasive research cannot meet their complex 
social and psychological needs. 
(2) Invasive research performed on great apes, 
and the breeding of great apes for these purposes, 
are economic in nature and substantially affect 
interstate commerce. 
(3) The majority of invasive research and test-
ing conducted on great apes in the United States is 
for the end purpose of developing drugs, pharma-
ceuticals, and other products to be sold in the inter-
state market. 
(4) The total costs associated with great ape re-
search have a direct economic impact on interstate 
commerce. 
(5) An overwhelming majority of invasive re-
search procedures performed on great apes involves 
some element of interstate commerce, such that 
great apes, equipment, and researchers have traveled 
across State lines. 
(6) The regulation of animals and activities as 
provided in this Act are necessary to effectively reg-
ulate interstate and foreign commerce. 
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(7) The National Research Council report enti-
tled ‘‘Chimpanzees in Research—Strategies for their 
Ethical Care, Management, and Use’’ concluded 
that— 
(A) there is a ‘‘moral responsibility’’ for 
the long-term care of chimpanzees used for sci-
entific research; 
(B) there should be a moratorium on fur-
ther chimpanzee breeding; 
(C) euthanasia should not be used as a 
means to control the size of the great ape popu-
lation; and 
(D) sanctuaries should be created to house 
chimpanzees in a manner consistent with high 
standards of lifetime care, social enrichment, 
and cognitive development. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) prohibit invasive research on great apes and 
the use of Federal funding of such research, both 
within and outside of the United States; 
(2) prohibit the transport of great apes for pur-
poses of invasive research; 
(3) prohibit the breeding of great apes for pur-
poses of invasive research; and 
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(4) require the provision of lifetime care of 
great apes that are owned by or under the control 
of the Federal Government in a suitable sanctuary 
through the permanent retirement of such apes. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following terms apply: 
(1) GREAT
APE.—The term ‘‘great ape’’ in-
cludes a chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, orangutan, or 
gibbon. 
(2) INVASIVE RESEARCH.— 
(A) The term ‘‘invasive research’’ means 
any research that may cause death, bodily in-
jury, pain, distress, fear, injury, or trauma to 
a great ape, including— 
(i) the testing of any drug or inten-
tional exposure to a substance that may be 
detrimental to the health or psychological 
well-being of a great ape; 
(ii) research that involves penetrating 
or cutting the body or removing body 
parts, restraining, tranquilizing, or anes-
thetizing a great ape; or 
(iii) isolation, social deprivation, or 
other experimental physical manipulations 
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that may be detrimental to the health or 
psychological well-being of a great ape. 
(B) Such term does not include— 
(i) close observation of natural or vol-
untary behavior of a great ape, provided 
that the research does not require an anes-
thetic or sedation event to collect data or 
record observations; 
(ii) the temporary separation of a 
great ape from its social group, leaving 
and returning, by its own volition; 
(iii) post-mortem examination of a 
great ape that was not killed for the pur-
pose of examination or research; and 
(iv) the administration of an annual 
or other necessary physical exam by a li-
censed veterinarian for the individual great 
ape’s well-being, that may include collec-
tion of blood, hair, or tissue samples con-
ducted for the well-being of that great ape, 
the ape’s social group, or the species. 
(3) PERMANENT RETIREMENT.— 
(A) The term ‘‘permanent retirement’’ 
means that a great ape is placed in a suitable 
sanctuary that will provide for the lifetime care 
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of the great ape and such great ape will not be 
used in further invasive research. 
(B) Such term does not include eutha-
nasia. 
(4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 
(A) an individual, corporation, partnership, 
trust, association, or any other private or not- 
for-profit entity; 
(B) any officer, employee, agent, depart-
ment, or instrumentality of the Federal Govern-
ment, a State, municipality, or political subdivi-
sion of a State; or 
(C) any other entity subject to the jurisdic-
tion of the United States. 
(5) SUITABLE
SANCTUARY.—The term ‘‘suit-
able sanctuary’’ means— 
(A) a sanctuary system under section 
481C of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 287a–3a); or 
(B) a comparable privately funded sanc-
tuary approved by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS. 
(a) INVASIVE RESEARCH PROHIBITION.—No person 
shall conduct invasive research on a great ape. 
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(b) PROHIBITION
ON RELATED ACTIVITIES.—No 
person shall knowingly breed, possess, rent, loan, donate, 
purchase, sell, house, maintain, lease, borrow, transport, 
move, deliver, or receive a great ape for the purpose of 
conducting invasive research on such great ape. 
(c) PROHIBITION
ON
FEDERAL
FUNDING
FOR 
INVASIVE RESEARCH.—No Federal funds may be used to 
conduct invasive research on a great ape both within and 
outside the United States. 
(d) EXEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to limit or prevent individualized medical care per-
formed on a great ape by a licensed veterinarian for the 
well-being of the great ape, including surgical procedures 
or chemical treatments for birth control. 
SEC. 5. RETIREMENT. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services or any 
other appropriate Federal authority shall provide for the 
permanent retirement of all great apes owned or under 
the control of the Federal Government that are being 
maintained in any facility for the purpose of breeding for, 
holding for, or conducting invasive research. 
SEC. 6. CIVIL PENALTIES. 
In addition to any other penalties that may apply 
under law, whoever violates any provision of this Act shall 
be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for 
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each such violation. Each day that such violation con-
tinues shall constitute a separate offense. 
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 
In the event that any one of the provisions in this 
Act shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid or unen-
forceable in any respect, such invalidity or unenforceability 
shall not affect any other provisions of this Act, and this 
Act shall be construed as if such invalid or unenforceable 
provisions had never been included in this Act. 
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATES. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF RESEARCH AND FUNDING.— 
The prohibitions under subsections (a) and (c) of section 
(4) shall take effect not later than 3 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—All other requirements 
and prohibitions in this Act shall take effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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