Editor's Note: Heather Moore is a staff writer for the PETA
Foundation. By Heather Moore – Special to CNN The thought-
provoking new film Rise of the Planet of the Apes may have
people talking long after they leave the Cineplex. In the film,
a scientist genetically modifies a young chimpanzee to create a
new breed of ape with human-like intelligence. The chimpanzee
matures quickly, escapes from his cage and recruits an army
among thousands of caged apes. They revolt, and a war breaks out
between the species. While much of the movie is obviously
science fiction, hundreds of chimpanzees really are used in
laboratory experiments in the U.S.—the only developed country
that still conducts invasive experiments on chimpanzees. These
animals are cut open, addicted to drugs, kept in isolation, or
inoculated with infectious agents—all legally. The U.S. Animal
Welfare Act (AWA) does not prohibit any experiment, no matter
how cruel or irrelevant. It simply sets minimum housing and
maintenance standards for confined animal