US health agency to end medical testing on chimps

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it will no longer fund chimpanzee medical research and will be retiring its remaining test animals.

The remaining 50 chimpanzees in custody will be sent to an animal sanctuary, health authorities said on Wednesday.

Chimpanzees were often used as test subjects because they are humans' closest living relative, sharing 98% of the same genes.

An internal by review by the NIH in 2010 found that "while the chimpanzee has been a valuable animal model in past research, most current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary".