I am writing in support of protecting all chimpanzees, both captive and wild, as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Failing to protect captive chimpanzees as an endangered species is contributing to their ongoing decline in the wild — globally, the number of wild chimpanzees has fallen by nearly 70 percent in the last 30 years.
Allowing captive chimpanzees in the United States to be commercially exploited encourages poaching and black-market trade in Africa, hampers international conservation efforts and creates the public misconception that chimpanzees are common in the wild. The double standard of protecting only wild chimpanzees will continue to cause the species to decline.
Please protect all chimpanzees as endangered chimpanzees.
