Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives and have been extensively used in biomedical research. Their welfare in sanctuaries, the wild, and research contexts are all significant welfare priorities.
Research chimpanzees in the US, nominally retired but held in laboratory facilities due to lack of sanctuary space, face ongoing welfare harms from confinement in conditions unsuited to their cognitive and social needs. Reintegration into social groups — necessary for welfare — is a lengthy, stressful process that research institutions are often ill-equipped to manage. Wild chimpanzees killed for bushmeat die in snare captures (prolonged suffering) or hunting with dogs (severe injury). Orphaned chimpanzees raised without mothers develop severely disrupted social behaviour — sanctuary rehabilitation programmes must provide surrogate family structures over years. Each welfare improvement for chimpanzees benefits our closest animal relatives.