Dutch prohibition on biomedical experiments with apes

In 2002, after many years of international campaigns, the Dutch government prohibited biomedical research on apes.

The breakthrough in the lengthy discussion on this subject came about when AAP offered to take in the last group of apes that were still being kept at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC) in the city of Rijswijk. In this laboratory, twenty-eight chimpanzees had been infected with HIV, SIV and/or hepatitis C. The animals were placed within a complex that was designed for them especially and financed by the government.

At present the European Commission is considering a proposal to prohibit biomedical research on apes in the whole European Union.