Daredevil Comedian Steve-O Urges Sen. Barbara Boxer to Support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act

Steve-O, star of the Jackass TV show and films, recently wrote Sen. Barbara Boxer and asked her to move the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act toward passage in Congress:

March 14, 2012

Sen. Barbara Boxer
Office of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Sen. Boxer,

I’m writing to ask you to move the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act through your committee and toward passage. This crucial bill will phase out invasive experiments on chimpanzees and release hundreds of chimpanzees to sanctuaries to live out their lives in peace.

Many people know me as the guy who intentionally harmed himself over and over on the show Jackass. But I am actually very serious about some things—including protecting chimpanzees and other animals from being intentionally harmed.

Nearly 1,000 chimpanzees are locked up in laboratories in the United States. They have no choice about whether they will undergo painful, invasive procedures and be infected with deadly diseases. These individuals are smart and sensitive—and they suffer greatly in laboratories.

Even worse, these cruel experiments aren’t necessary to advance our understanding of human health. The Institute of Medicine recently released a major scientific report making it clear that experiments being conducted on chimpanzees to study HIV/AIDS and a long list of other diseases could be replaced with alternative methods of research.

The Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act already has widespread support in Congress and among constituents. But it needs to be moved through your committee and to the floor of the Senate as soon as possible. These chimpanzees have spent years or even decades in lab cages—we need to move quickly to give them peace.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear good news about this bill soon.

Sincerely,

Steve-O