The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it will start classifying both wild and captive chimpanzees under the Endangered Species Act.
The rule will change the status of captive chips from "threatened" to "endangered," which is the same status that has already been given to wild chimpanzees, the Centers for Biological Diversity reported. The new title will widen the species' protection, bringing additional restrictions to ensure the humane treatment of captive chimps.
"It's wonderful news that all chimpanzees now have the endangered status that these highly intelligent and imperiled primates need to survive," said Tara Easter, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Protecting captive chimps as endangered is the morally correct thing to do, and it will also help safeguard the species in the wild."
Wild chimpanzees have been facing increasing threats from habitat loss, deforestation, disease, and human capture. They have been considered endangered since 1990, but captive populations have not received the same protections, maintaining a "threatened" status. In 2010, a coalition of organizations led by the Jane Goodall Institute petitioned to give captive chimps the endangered status.
Some of the protections that come with captive chimps' new status include additional measures to stop the illegal capture and sale of the animals and importing or exporting them without appropriate permits. Permits will now only be issued for scientific researchers that benefit the species and help manage their recovery. The final rule will go into effect in September.
