美國停止用黑猩猩進行生物醫學研究
The National Institutes of Health has announced that it will end its support for invasive research on chimpanzees and retire the 50 chimps that it had set aside for future biomedical research.
美國國家衛生研究院(National Institutes of Health)日前宣佈不再支持對黑猩猩進行侵入式研究，而它爲未來生物醫學研究保留的50只黑猩猩也將退役。
The decision, announced on Wednesday, brings to a close years of controversy about federally funded primate experimentation, and follows a 2013 decision by the N.I.H. to retire all but 50 of its chimpanzees to animal sanctuaries.
本週三宣佈的這一決定，給多年來關於聯邦政府資助的靈長類動物實驗的爭論畫上了句號。國家衛生研究院2013年曾決定，除50只黑猩猩之外，其他都放歸動物保護區。
After two and a half years, no proposal requesting use of the remaining chimpanzees has moved forward, said Dr. Francis S. Collins, the director of the N.I.H., in a news briefing on Wednesday with reporters.
兩年半之後，沒有任何要求使用剩餘黑猩猩的計劃在向前推進，該院院長弗朗西斯·S·柯林斯(Francis S. Collins)在本週三的新聞發佈會上對記者說。
“We find no evidence that there is a need to continue to do research of an invasive sort on chimpanzees, not now and not going into the future,” Dr. Collins said.
“我們沒有看到任何證據表明有必要繼續對黑猩猩做侵入式研究，無論現在還是未來，”柯林斯博士說。
He cited two events that had led to the decision. The first was an extensive independent assessment published in 2011 that investigated the usefulness of chimpanzees for biomedical research. That report led the agency to retire a sizable portion of its chimpanzees in 2013 and set stricter requirements for research with the primates.
他表示，有兩件事導致他們做出這個決定。一是在2011年發表了一篇獨立評估，對黑猩猩在生物醫學研究中的用處進行了廣泛調查。因此在2013年，該機構決定讓其擁有的相當大一部分黑猩猩退役，並對靈長類動物研究設置了更嚴格的要求。
The second was the designation of all chimps as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act in June. The regulations set by the designation require researchers to apply for permits to perform invasive research with chimps.
二是今年6月，《瀕危物種保護法》(Endangered Species Act)將所有黑猩猩列爲瀕危物種。根據法規要求，研究人員對黑猩猩進行侵入式研究之前必須申請許可。
“When you put those things together, it seems inescapable,” Dr. Collins said. “We have moved on beyond the time when research on chimpanzees was considered essential.”
“綜合起來看，這似乎是不可避免的，”柯林斯說。“我們向前推進，已經過了認爲有必要對黑猩猩進行研究的時期。”
Animal rights activists who have fought for the release of chimpanzees from federal institutions for years welcomed the news as a victory.
爲解放聯邦機構的黑猩猩奮戰多年的動物權利活動人士對這一消息表示歡迎，認爲這是一種勝利。
“When in 2013 they announced they would release the majority of chimps, some people focused on the 50 that would be left behind,” said Kathleen Conlee, the vice president of animal research at the Humane Society of the United States. “And I said, ‘Don’t worry, someday we will get them protected.’ And today we did.”
“當他們在2013年宣佈他們會釋放大部分黑猩猩時，一些人的關注點是剩下的50只黑猩猩，”美國人道協會(Humane Society of the United States)動物研究部門的副主管凱瑟琳·康利(Kathleen Conlee)表示。“我說過，‘不要擔心，我們有一天會讓它們獲得保護。’我們今天做到了。”
Stephen Ross, the director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes and a member of the group that recommended that the N.I.H. retain 50 chimpanzees, said in an email that he applauded the decision to retire all of the federally owned chimps.
萊斯特·E·費舍爾猿類研究及保護中心( Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes )負責人斯蒂芬·羅斯(Stephen Ross)在郵件中表示，他歡迎允許聯邦機構擁有的所有黑猩猩退役的決定。羅斯所在的組織曾建議國家衛生研究院保留50只黑猩猩。
“Given the lack of interest in conducting medical research with chimpanzees, it was clear that the need for this reserve colony did not justify their continued housing in laboratory environments,” he wrote.
“鑑於大家沒有興趣利用黑猩猩做醫學研究，儘管需要保留這一羣體，但這明顯無法成爲讓它們繼續留在實驗室的理由。”
To date, the N.I.H. has retired 183 of its chimpanzees to a federally funded sanctuary in Louisiana called Chimp Haven. The agency said it planned to send an additional 308 chimpanzees, including the last 50 chimps, to the sanctuary.
迄今爲止，國家衛生研究院已讓183只黑猩猩退役，並將其送至路易斯安那州一個名叫黑猩猩樂園(Chimp Haven)的保護區。該保護區由聯邦政府資助。國家衛生研究院稱，打算再送308只黑猩猩去該保護區，包括最後的50只。
The entire process could take several years, Dr. Collins said, during which the chimps will be kept in three different federal facilities, including the Southwest National Primate Research Center, the Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research and the Alamogordo Primate Facility.
柯林斯表示，整個過程可能要用幾年時間。在這期間，黑猩猩將被安置在三個不同的聯邦機構，包括西南國家靈長類動物研究中心(Southwest National Primate Research Center)、米哈萊·E·基林比較醫學研究中心(Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research)和阿拉莫戈多靈長類動物中心(Alamogordo Primate Facility)。
Under the CHIMP Act of 2000, all federally owned chimps must retire at Chimp Haven. The N.I.H. will give priority in admittance to 20 chimpanzees in Southwest National Primate Research Center, also known as the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, in San Antonio, because those chimps are closest to the sanctuary. The N.I.H. plans to move chimps together based on their family and social groups, taking into consideration their age and health.
按照2000年的《黑猩猩健康改善、飼養和保護法案》(Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection Act，簡稱CHIMP Act)的規定，聯邦政府擁有的所有黑猩猩，在退役後必須安置在黑猩猩樂園。國家衛生研究院將優先把20只黑猩猩，送往位於聖安東尼奧的西南國家靈長類動物研究中心，又名德克薩斯州生物醫學研究所(Texas Biomedical Research Institute)，因爲那些黑猩猩離該保護區最近。國家衛生研究院計劃按照家庭和社羣，同時考慮年齡和健康因素，把黑猩猩聚集在一起。
“We absolutely look forward to welcoming these 50 chimps to our sanctuaries to join with their lab chimp friends,” said Erika Fleury, program manager of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance, which runs Chimp Haven and seven other primate sanctuaries in the United States and Canada that together care for more than 270 chimpanzees.
“我們期待着迎接這50只黑猩猩來我們的保護區，加入到它們在實驗室的黑猩猩朋友的行列，”北美靈長類動物庇護地聯盟(North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance)的項目經理埃麗卡·弗勒裏(Erika Fleury)說。該機構負責着黑猩猩樂園，及美國和加拿大另外七所靈長類動物保護區的運營。這些保護區總共照顧着270多隻黑猩猩。
Cathy Willis Spraetz, the president and chief executive of Chimp Haven, said in an email that the sanctuary had space to take 25 chimps immediately and planned to make space for 25 more in early 2016.
黑猩猩樂園的園長兼首席執行官凱茜·威利斯·斯普雷茨(Cathy Willis Spraetz)在電子郵件中表示，該保護區有立即接收25只黑猩猩的空間，還打算爲2016年初再接收25只安排地方。
Ms. Spraetz also said Chimp Haven would start a campaign to build four more forested enclosures, several acres in size, to house 100 more chimpanzees.
斯普雷茨還表示，黑猩猩樂園將開啓一場行動，再修建四個有草木覆蓋的活動場地，每個幾英畝大，以便再安置100只黑猩猩。
“Now it's time,” she said, “to give them their freedom where they have self-determination and can decide how they will spend their days.”
“現在是時候給它們自己決定的自由，讓它們決定自己怎麼打發時間了，”斯普雷茨說。
