Great Ape Research Ban Movement

The Great Ape Research Ban Movement represents a landmark ethical shift, with New Zealand (1999), the Netherlands (2002), Japan (2006), the EU (2010), and the United States (2015) progressively banning or severely restricting invasive research on chimpanzees and great apes due to their cognitive complexity. This global consensus is slower than the #9 Neuralink Animal Testing Scrutiny in generating public outrage, but it sets a more fundamental precedent: banning invasive procedures on species sharing 98.8% of human DNA. Over 60 countries now have some restriction, yet the debate continues as evidence of sentience in other species mounts, leaving the line for protection unresolved.