In a case of life imitating art, James Franco (star of Rise of the Planet of the Apes) is part of the growing support for the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.

The Act will prevent federal laboratories from conducting invasive experiments on chimpanzees and will release all current captives into outdoor sanctuaries where they can be free to socialize and commune with nature.

These chimps lives are spent in cages not much large than a kitchen table and have horrible and painful tests performed on them when they do get the chance to escape the confinement.

The chimp’s only real crime is being our genetic relatives sharing 99% of their DNA with humans.

Along with DNA they have been known to share our language, feelings and at times or love of companion animals.

Many will point out the help that chimp testing has done towards disease research, but it is time to realize that there are other more humane options, in-vitro testing being a suffering free and sometimes more accurate alternative.

Our evolutionary siblings do not deserve to be punished for being our family and it is great to see people looking out for their well-being. So join James Franco and Kevin Nealon in the growing support for this legislation.

Image Source: Frank Wouters/Flickr