Connections with our closest genetic relative – we share more than 98 per cent of the same DNA – run deep. Chimps grieving over the death of a relative will sleep poorly and remain quieter, calmer and have little appetite for weeks after.

Research shows chimps exhibit astonishing powers of memory recall, self-awareness and emotions. Studies this year show they binge drink by sucking fermented sap from palm trees and will hoard raw vegetables if they know they might cook them later.

The similarities between our species helped drive changes in the United States last week that will require scientists wanting to perform harmful tests on chimps to apply for permits, which will be granted only if it benefits their species.

Primate researcher Jane Goodall hailed the move as a "new consciousness". The National Association for Biomedical Research instead said the rules would inhibit the production of vaccines.

In Australia, techniques that replace the use of animals in research must be used wherever possible. But momentum is growing more broadly in favour of animal rights.

The NSW parliament boasts Australia's first Animal Justice Party MP. In May, the New Zealand government formally recognised animals as "sentient" beings.

We're fascinated by chimps because they remind us of ourselves, says US Wildlife Conservator professor Robert Young. "Chimps are passionate, scheming, aggressive animals. In many ways they seem to represent the human condition in its most elemental state," he wrote on The Conversation, on Saturday.

Ending the unnecessary suffering of chimps might make it easier, therefore, for our species to look in the mirror.