If they could, every one of the 1,000 chimpanzees now languishing in U.S. laboratories would thank you.

If they could, every one of the 1,000 chimpanzees now languishing in U.S. laboratories would thank you.

NEAVS/Project R&R Science Director Dr. Jarrod Bailey recently met with Senator Cantwell and several other legislators, explaining how ending chimpanzee research would have no negative impact on human health. Dr. Bailey provided the Congress members with abstracts of NEAVS/Project R&R’s scientific papers, along with a list of over 700 scientists who have pledged their support for ending the use of chimpanzees in invasive research, demonstrating impressive scientific support for this legislation.

The House version (H.R. 1326) of the Great Ape Protection Act currently has 149 cosponsors. We thank all of you for your hard work in getting your federal representatives to sign on.

Now it’s time to build the list of Senate cosponsors and we need your help!

To locate federal senators, click here. And please, pass this information on to neighbors/friends.

It will take only a few minutes and it will make all the difference for the chimpanzees. If needed, please direct your senator’s office to Project R&R or (617) 523-6020 for further information.

Suggested talking points:

• Ask your senators to join Senators Cantwell, Collins, and Sanders by cosponsoring the Great Ape Protection Act (S.3694). This legislation will end invasive research on chimpanzees and retire all federally-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary.
• If your senator is Cantwell, Collins, or Sanders, please send an email to thank them.
• Around 1,000 chimpanzees live in six labs at taxpayer expense. The majority are not in research, but are instead languishing in these facilities. Chimpanzees are expensive to maintain in a lab. They have failed as effective research models for humans and they suffer from the hardships that accompany their use in research and confinement. The majority of the U.S. chimpanzee population has spent decades in a lab — some 40 to 50 years — yet 71% of the American public believes that those who have spent 10 years or more in research should be retired to sanctuary.
• Taxpayer dollars will be saved through this legislation as it phases out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research and transfers them to retirement in sanctuary, which includes the federal chimpanzee sanctuary.
• The Great Ape Protection Act is a long overdue, common-sense reform that will: protect our closest genetic relatives from physical and psychological harm; stop the cost to American taxpayers who pay for their substandard laboratory maintenance and care; and allow precious NIH dollars to be reallocated to more productive areas of research that can truly benefit humans.

Thank you for taking action on behalf of animals in labs!

• Invasive research on great apes
• Federal funding of such research both within and outside of the U.S.
• Transport of great apes for such research
• Federal breeding of great apes for such research

Requires:

• Permanent retirement of all federally-owned great apes to sanctuary

Order our campaign button:
call 617-523-6020 or email releasechimps@neavs.org

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/08/05/senate/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/21/legislative-update-33009/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/21/legislative-update-33009/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:02:11 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/04/02/legislative-update-33009/ Keeping a strong and steady pace since its introduction March 2009, the Great Ape Protection Act has the support of 149 cosponsors in the House (H.R.1326) and was introduced in the Senate (S.3694) on August 3, 2010. The bill is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.


Project R&R thanks all our supporters who contacted their legislators. YOUR outreach has led to this ever-growing bi-partisan list of sponsors so critical to help ensure the bill’s success.

» If your Representative is not signed on, ask them to cosponsor the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R.1326).

» If they are a cosponsor, please thank them

» To order legislator postcards, click here.

» To find your legislator, click here.

» Finally, email the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Let them know you no longer want your tax dollars going towards research on great apes. Tell them you want NIH:

• To retire all government owned/supported chimpanzees currently in U.S. labs to sanctuary; and,
• To reallocate funding for alternatives, which are more humane, safer and better science.

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/21/legislative-update-33009/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/08/200-chimps-being-shipped-to-texas-for-research/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/08/200-chimps-being-shipped-to-texas-for-research/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:15:51 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/08/200-chimps-being-shipped-to-texas-for-research/ Public outrage continues over the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) plan to transfer an estimated 186 chimpanzees from the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) in New Mexico to the Southwest National Primate Research Center in Texas, moving them from a holding facility to a lab where they will be more readily available for invasive research.

Before living at APF, these individuals endured years of research or use as “breeders” to make babies to be sent into research. New Mexico citizens and supporters nationwide; animal protection groups; actor Gene Hackman, who has a home in New Mexico; and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have all joined in urging the NIH to halt their transfer plans.

Recently, Governor Richardson met with officials at the NIH to urge them to keep the chimpanzees in New Mexico and to convert APF into a sanctuary. In his press release following this meeting, Governor Richardson stated, “While it appears they are holding steadfast to their position, I am holding steadfast to mine. I will continue pressing for a humane, long-term care solution for the care of these chimpanzees ….”

To date the NIH appears unmoved.

The Southwest lab has said that the newly arrived chimpanzees will be made available for biomedical research nationwide in hepatitis B and hepatitis C, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Yet as NEAVS/Project R&R has shown through the research of our Science Director, Dr. Jarrod Bailey, the extensive past use of chimpanzees in these areas has contributed little or nothing of significance to human health, and has in many cases been a costly failure.

We thank Governor Richardson for advocating on behalf of the Alamogordo chimpanzees and urge the public to continue pressuring the NIH to retire the chimpanzees rather than subjecting them to further research.

For more information on efforts to end all chimpanzee research, including the recent introduction of a Senate version of the Great Ape Protection Act (S.3694) visit releasechimps.org.

To get involved in local efforts on behalf of the chimpanzees at APF, go to www.apnm.org/chimps.



Please contact:

Dr. Barbara Alving, Director, NCRR
barbara.alving@nih.gov
301-496-5793

National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 3B11
31 Center Drive, MSC 2128
Bethesda, MD 20892

Ask her to reconsider NIH’s decision, and to instead retire the APF chimpanzees and keep them in New Mexico. Tell her politely that you as an American taxpayer do not agree with NIH’s chimpanzee “management” and instead urge them to give chimpanzees the safety and comforts of sanctuary that they so deserve. Remind her that it is a national shame that the U.S. is virtually the only nation to continue the practice of chimpanzee use and laboratory confinement and that it is within her power to change that. Thank her for her time and attention and ask her to please respond as this issue really matters to you.

###

On July 1, 2010 at least 14 chimpanzees were moved from the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) to the Southwest National Primate Research Center (Southwest) in Texas, where they will be available for use in invasive research. The federal government plans to move the rest of the 188 chimpanzees housed at APF to Southwest by early 2011.“This is an urgent situation … New Mexico wants to save these chimpanzees who have already given so much of their lives to the American public as part of medical research studies,” said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in a July 22 release.

According to the release, Gov. Richardson sent a letter to Dr. Francis Collins, Director of National Institutes of Health (NIH), asking the federal government to permanently retire the 202 chimpanzees, return the 14 chimpanzees who have already been sent to Texas, and convert APF into a sanctuary.

Since 2001, APF has served as a holding facility, run by Charles River Laboratories under a NIH contract, for these government-owned chimpanzees. No research was conducted on the premises of APF. The few individuals used in active research were sent out to other facilities. All records suggest this was a rare occurrence. Once the government moves them to Southwest, however, they will be more readily available for invasive research.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW) in Washington says that several of the chimpanzees they rescued from the Buckshire Corporation in 2008 have children at APF. Foxie, Negra, and Jody — all now safely at CSNW — were formerly used for breeding and had their children taken away from them shortly after birth. While they themselves were eventually rescued and brought to sanctuary, their children remain in harm’s way. Foxie’s son David, Negra’s daughter Heidi, and Jody’s children Levi and April are all at APF. Sadly, NEAVS/Project R&R has learned that Levi is one of the 14 chimpanzees who have already been sent to Southwest.

###

Stop the transfer of Alamogordo chimps

We’ve learned that the federal government plans to move more than 200 chimpanzees now living at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) to the Southwest National Primate Research Center in Texas. At APF the vast majority of chimpanzees were being warehoused. Once the Air Force’s program finished its gravity experiments and the infamous Coulston Foundation closed down, the government elected to maintain 288 chimpanzees at the Alamogordo facility. In the last 10 years, a miniscule number were sent into research at other facilities. Once at Southwest, the remaining chimpanzees will be readily available for invasive research.The government plans to move 14-15 chimpanzees this summer and the remainder in January 2011. Housing renovations are underway at Southwest funded by taxpayer dollars.



Please call your Senators/Representative on behalf of the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees who face a life sentence of laboratory confinement and use.

Here are some points to consider:

• Thank them for their leadership in New Mexico and for sharing the compassionate values of their constituents.
• Make them aware that the NIH’s National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) plans to move over 200 chimpanzees out of the Alamogordo Primate Facility to a lab in Texas to be available for research.
• Tell them you object because published studies have documented the enormous suffering chimpanzees endure in laboratory life and use. What’s more, the research of geneticist Dr. Jarrod Bailey and others have shown that the past 30 years of using chimpanzees to study AIDS, cancer, hepatitis C, and other diseases has failed to provide breakthroughs in prevention, treatment or cures for humans. The business of chimpanzee laboratory housing and use is a waste of tax dollars and time. NIH/NCRR must be held accountable.
• Remind them that the U.S. remains the last developed nation using chimpanzees in invasive research and that chimpanzees are a unique part of New Mexico history. New Mexico now has a chance to give these individuals peace and dignity while keeping jobs in the state.
• Ask them to please stand up for what’s right before it’s too late — keep the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees in New Mexico, help permanently retire them, and turn APF into a model sanctuary of chimpanzee care.

Who to contact:

NM Senators:
Sen. Jeff Bingaman: (202) 224-5521
Sen. Tom Udall: (202) 224-6621

NM Representatives:
Congressional District 1 (Northern New Mexico): Rep. Ben Ray Luján: (202) 225-6190
Congressional District 2 (Central New Mexico): Martin Heinrich: (202) 225-6316
Congressional District 3 (Southern New Mexico): Rep. Harry Teague: (202) 225-2365

For more information on efforts to end all chimpanzee research, visit releasechimps.org.

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/07/08/200-chimps-being-shipped-to-texas-for-research/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/06/30/neavs-presents-at-asp/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/06/30/neavs-presents-at-asp/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:17:44 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/06/30/neavs-presents-at-asp/ NEAVS president Theodora Capaldo, EdD, recently presented at the 33rd meeting of the American Society of Primatologists (ASP) in Louisville, Kentucky, on a panel hosted by the Humane Society of the United States, also featuring Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The panel, Great Ape Research and Retirement: Policy, Ethics, Economics and Science, was the first time ASP accepted a submission for such a panel dealing with the use and housing of chimpanzees in research and efforts to end their use and retire all chimpanzees to sanctuary.

Dr. Capaldo gave two presentations on the panel: Ethical and Humane Considerations in the Housing and Maintenance of Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories and the panel’s conclusion, Economic Considerations in the Housing and Maintenance of Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories and Sanctuaries. The audience – the majority of whom are involved in primate research – responded with questions regarding the appropriateness of the chimpanzee model for research into human health and the challenges of retiring some 1,000 chimpanzees into sanctuary.

They expressed concerns regarding sanctuaries’ ability to meet Animal Welfare Act (AWA) standards and provide proper veterinary care. With concrete examples of how many sanctuaries (Save the Chimps, Fauna Foundation, and Center for Great Apes were referenced) exceed AWA standards, and evidence of the level and breadth of expert veterinary care at those facilities, opponents were left to seriously ponder the validity of their arguments against retirement. Dr. Capaldo extended an invitation to opponents to “visit sanctuaries with us, and see for yourself.”

Fauna Foundation, our partner in Project R&R, is eager to help us bring Fauna, an exemplary model of animal care, to the awareness of those who do not see how bleak laboratory life is, or who judge sanctuaries on the basis of those who have less than acceptable standards, including roadside zoos, private collectors, and others who have become savvy in calling themselves sanctuaries when they are anything but.

Bringing lab workers who care about animals and researchers who have worked in institutions for decades to “the light” of the benefits and beauty that even life in captivity can hold for chimpanzees and others from research would be a major step in changing hearts and minds. For many, once they see how it could and should be for animals in captivity, they go back to their work and question more and more the practices of the institutions in which they have become numbed and institutionalized.

Our invitation, transparency, and willingness “to show and tell” speaks volumes about our certainty that sanctuary can provide superior care and a life worth living for the thousand chimpanzees senselessly languishing behind laboratory walls.

Our time in Kentucky allowed us an opportunity, along with other sanctuary leaders and animal groups, to visit the Primate Rescue Center (PRC). We visited all the primates and committed staff and saw for the first time the expansive outdoor enclosure (pictured above) NEAVS helped fund for the LEMSIP chimpanzees who were retired there in 1997. Though youngsters when they arrived, they are now strong and healthy adults who had definitely outgrown – not just in size but as importantly in strength – their original digs. A special thank you to April Truitt, PRC Founder and Director, for her hospitality.


[Photo: NEAVS made a donation to the Primate Rescue Center giving the rescued chimpanzee’s Room to Roam in their new enclosure.]

Photo © Fauna Foundation

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/06/30/neavs-presents-at-asp/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/project-rr-on-the-road/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/project-rr-on-the-road/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:41:26 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/project-rr-on-the-road/ Spring 2010
• NEAVS/Project R&R, represented by Dr. Capaldo, attended a meeting of leaders from the sanctuary community, animal protection organizations, and the zoo community to discuss strategic plans for providing sanctuary to great apes rescued from research once the Great Ape Protection Act passes into law. Dr. Capaldo’s presentation, entitled “An Economic Analysis of Chimpanzee Housing and Maintenance in U.S. Laboratories and Sanctuaries,” demonstrated the economic benefits of transferring chimpanzees from federally supported laboratories into sanctuary. She gave information drawn from our latest economic study that included examples of government waste in grants to warehouse chimpanzees in labs. The analysis adds credibility to arguments that economic motivation is keeping chimpanzees in labs rather than releasing them to sanctuary. The importance of reallocating federal dollars to sanctuary care was emphasized for humane benefit to the chimpanzees and economic benefit to the taxpayer-funded federal budget. The meeting was hosted by the Arcus Foundation and The Humane Society of the United States.
• At a March meeting of the Animal Law Practice Group of the Massachusetts Bar Association, NEAVS’  President Theodora Capaldo, EdD joined a panel of experts including Steve Neimi, DVM, Director of the Center for Comparative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Chair of the Board of The Massachusetts Society for Medical Research (MSMR), and Valerie Parkinson, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Manager at Tufts University, to discuss Animals in Laboratories: What is the Legal Framework and is it Sufficient?  The presentations provided an important opportunity to take a critical look at not only existing laws and regulations pertaining to animals in labs, but to also explore the implications of the Great Ape Protection Act. Dr. Capaldo’s presentation focused on how the Animal Welfare Act provides no real protection, safety, or relief to the millions of animals in labs and offers only a false sense of security to the caring public, as well as on the “rubber stamp” function of the required  IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), citing published studies on their ineffectiveness. Panel organizers later sent NEAVS a thank you, noting: “The meeting’s success was due in large part to your thoughtful contributions to the panel presentation and group discussion.” We want to remind our members that we are available to present should opportunities come up in your area.

 

 

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/project-rr-on-the-road/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/opposition-starting-to-weigh-in/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/opposition-starting-to-weigh-in/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:12:30 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/opposition-starting-to-weigh-in/ With 149 House cosponsors to date, the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R.1326/S.3694), currently in the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, continues to gain support. Meanwhile, opposition to the bill is beginning to become vocal — a sign that they are starting to get that this bill has ‘legs!’

“We are ready for the opposition’s point of view,” says NEAVS/Project R&R Executive Director Dr. Theodora Capaldo. She adds, “And that is all it is, a point of view, without scientific, ethical, or economic foundation. We have the arguments in place to refute any and all of their exaggerated, misleading, and inaccurate claims. We have powerful legislators who want to hear both sides of the story. Our members and compassionate citizens everywhere should take pride in having helped fueled this debate. Opposition to the bill underscores the bill’s progress — gaining the support of thousands of citizens, scientists, and government leaders — and it informs us that the opposition is getting that, yes indeed, this really is happening.”

In response to opposition, Dr. Capaldo notes “We at NEAVS look forward to addressing their concerns and highlighting reality: ending chimpanzee research is not at the expense of human health. Instead, it will help move scientific advances forward via new progressive research methods that do work — thus helping and saving both human and chimpanzee lives and millions of wasted taxpayer dollars.”

NEAVS/Project R&R members are asked to keep an eye out for our ongoing eAlerts with timely action items to help pass the Great Ape Protection Act!

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/30/opposition-starting-to-weigh-in/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/09/help-wenka-and-all-elder-chimpanzees/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/09/help-wenka-and-all-elder-chimpanzees/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:18:00 +0000 KarenS Project R&R Alerts / Campaigns http://www.releasechimps.org/2006/05/08/help-wenka-get-out-of-the-lab-before-its-too-late/ Help release Wenka and all elder* chimpanzees languishing in U.S. labs.

Sign the petition for their release from labs and placement into sanctuary.

Wenka is a frail 56-year-old chimpanzee, held at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, who deserves sanctuary. Her time for the comfort and safety of sanctuary is running out.

While Project R&R is committed to getting all chimpanzees out of all U.S. labs, your immediate help is needed to secure Wenka’s release, along with that of all of the other elders in captivity – most if not all of whom have been in a lab for 40 years or more. Many have spent their entire lives in a lab enduring multiple procedures or being repeatedly “bred” to make more babies for research. Some were captured as infants in Africa.

The Chimpanzee Elders Who Need Our Help (ages as of 2010)


• Wenka, age 56 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Gwen, age 54 – New Iberia Research Center (deceased)
• Flo, age 53 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (government owned)
• Cheeta, age 53 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Lulu, age 53 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Maxine, age 53 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Susie, age 52 – Primate Foundation of Arizona, AZ (deceased)
• Karen, age 52 – New Iberia Research Center, LA
• Billy Ray, age 51 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (released 2007)
• Guy, age 51 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (government owned)
• Diana, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (not listed in 2010 census)
• James, age 50 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (government owned)
• Jan, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (not listed in 2010 census)
• Julius, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA
• Lady Bird, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA
• Pumpkin, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (not listed in 2010 census)
• Sandy, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA
• Walter B., age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (not listed in 2010 census)
• Clay, age 50 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (not listed in 2010 census)
• Martha, age 50 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Mary, age 50 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Harriet, age 49 – Primate Foundation of Arizona, AZ (deceased)
• Kirby, age 49 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (government owned)
• Reba, age 48 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA (deceased)
• Jenda, age 48 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA (deceased)
• Jake, age 48 – New Iberia Research Center, LA (deceased)
• Henry, age 48 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (currently at New Iberia)
• Winny, age 48 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (government owned)
• Pierre, age 48 – M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, TX
• Gigi, age 48 – M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, TX
• Happy, age 48 – M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, TX
• Beleka, age 48 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Iyk, age 48 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA
• Josam, age 47 – Alamogordo Primate Facility, NM (deceased)
• Boka, age 47 – Yerkes National Primate Research Center, GA (deceased)

For a list of all known elder chimpanzees in U.S. laboratories, click here.

Some labs have not responded to our requests for 2010 census information. Therefore, it is unknown if all the individuals listed above are still alive, have been transferred to other facilities, or if other elders exist.

*On average, the life expectancy for chimpanzees in captivity is only 30 yrs/males and 45/yrs females. Their time is running out. Chimpanzees are considered elderly beginning at 25 yrs/males and 30 yrs/females.

Sources: Cohen, J. (2007, January 26). The Endangered Lab Chimp. Science, 315, 450-452; and Videan, E. N., Fritz, J., & Murphy, J. (2008, April). Effects of Aging on Hematology and Serum Clinical Chemistry in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology, 70(4), 327-338.

Project R&R’s Elder Campaign is currently focusing on chimpanzees 48 years of age or older.

You can change their fate and help make their remaining years a life of dignity and protection in sanctuary by clicking here to sign onto the Project R&R petition demanding their immediate release from the laboratories that currently hold them.

She was old and grateful for the small kindnesses,
like good fruit and sunshine.
–A former Yerkes lab worker’s recollection of Wenka

A former lab worker remembers Wenka vividly: “Her fingers were long and delicate, her palms fragile, and they seemed to perfectly represent her sweet and passive nature.” According to Project R&R’s sources at the Yerkes lab, Wenka is still alive – presently living in a group setting with seven or eight other chimpanzees who are all younger than her. Our most current information indicates that she is one of the oldest chimpanzees in research in the world.

HOW TO HELP
Sign the Project R&R letter that will be sent to NIH officials, lab directors, and affiliated university presidents – individuals who can show compassion to these elderly chimpanzees whose lives have been spent and exhausted by research.

According to an independent public survey
commissioned by Project R&R, 71% of Americans
support the release of chimpanzees who have spent
longer than 10 years in a laboratory.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Read more about Wenka and the Elders.
• Read FAQs to learn more about the use of chimpanzees in research.
• Read about the trauma of lab life for chimpanzees.
• View WHO’S THERE? lists of the chimpanzee individuals held in labs.
• Chimpanzees and Aging Research: Using elder chimpanzees in human aging research
• A Brief Overview of Chimpanzees and Aging Research
• Contact us at releasechimps@neavs.org

Make a donation: help Project R&R’s rescue
efforts. These chimpanzees have little time left!

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2010/03/09/help-wenka-and-all-elder-chimpanzees/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/15/saying-goodbye-to-tom/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/15/saying-goodbye-to-tom/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:13:10 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/15/saying-goodbye-to-tom/ It is with great sadness that we share that on December 10th, 2009, Tom, Project R&R’s Ambassador, died suddenly and unexpectedly at Fauna Sanctuary. Our condolences and love go out on behalf of all our supporters to Fauna director Gloria Grow, the chimps, and everyone at Fauna.

Tom inspired us, taught us, and earned the distinguished role of Project R&R’s Ambassador on behalf of all chimpanzees still languishing in laboratories everywhere.

PLEASE, in loving memory of Tom, call your Representative today and ask him/her to sign on to the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) because it is the right thing to do.

If your Representative is already signed on, thank them and share with them our loss of Tom. Remind him/her that Tom’s sudden and unexpected death sends a tragic message that chimpanzees in labs have precious little time left. We must get them all to sanctuary by passing GAPA into law.
 
From of all of us at NEAVS, thank you for your love and care.

Sincerely,

Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D.
President

Condolences can be sent to: gloria.fauna@videotron.ca

Donations in memory of Tom can be sent to:

the Lifetime Care Fund, Fauna Sanctuary
c/o NEAVS, 333 Washington Street, Suite 850 Boston, MA 02108

or, click here to give online and note “for Tom” in the comment box

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/15/saying-goodbye-to-tom/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/10/project-rr-responds-to-hep-c-drug/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/10/project-rr-responds-to-hep-c-drug/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:28:06 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/10/project-rr-responds-to-hep-c-drug/ On December 2, 2009, scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) reported that the experimental drug SPC3649 (developed by Santaris Pharma) was effective against hepatitis C in chimpanzees. According to the results from the study, the drug caused a substantial decrease in the level of virus present in the blood of the chronically infected chimpanzees. The Los Angeles Times released a story on the study stating, “The antiviral, which is already being tested for safety in humans, has exhibited no toxic side effects and has not allowed development of resistance, a characteristic that plagues other treatments.”

Read the LA Times story.
 
While the possibility of a drug to treat hepatitis C is welcome news, according to Dr. Jarrod Bailey, Science Director of Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in Laboratories, there was no necessity and is no justification for having used chimpanzees in this research.

In response, Project R&R submitted a Letter to the Editor of the LA Times (see below).
To read our full position, click here.

Letter to the Editor:

Your December 4th story (1) on an experimental antiviral drug, SPC3649, was reported as decreasing hepatitis C virus (HCV) in chimpanzees, with scientists hoping results will be mirrored in humans, leading to the first effective hepatitis C treatment.  In 2006, human liver tissue culture experiments, demonstrated the drug’s potential to decrease HCV infection (2). It has been tested in African green monkeys (3) and mice (4), and is being tested in human clinical trials (5). So why was a chimpanzee study necessary?

Given the differences between humans’ and chimpanzees’ course of HCV infection, and the lack of relevance of chimpanzee data to humans (e.g., in HIV/AIDS vaccine research), there is no scientific justification for this chimpanzee research. Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, home to this study (6), receives millions each year to house and maintain chimpanzees, leaving the bogus need for their use even more suspect.

Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D.
Jarrod Bailey, Ph.D.

Sources

 

(1) Maugh II, Thomas H. (Dec. 4, 2009). “Experimental drug is combating hepatitis C in chimps, researchers say”. Los Angeles Times. Available at: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-hepatitis-c4-2009dec04,0,1848983.story

(2) Jopling, C.L., Norman, K.L., Sarnow, P. (2006). Positive and negative modulation of viral and cellular mRNAs by liver-specific microRNA miR-122. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 71, 369-376.

(3) Elmen, J., Lindow, M., Schutz, S., Lawrence, M., Petri, A., Obad, S., Lindholm, M., Hedtjarn, M., Hansen, H.F., Berger, U., Gullans, S., Kearney, P., Sarnow, P., Straarup, E.M., Kauppinen, S. (2008). LNA-mediated microRNA silencing in non-human primates. Nature 452, 896-899.

(4) Elmen, J., Lindow, M., Silahtaroglu, A., Bak, M., Christensen, M., Lind-Thomsen, A., Hedtjarn, M., Hansen, J.B., Hansen, H.F., Straarup, E.M., McCullagh, K., Kearney, P., Kauppinen, S. (2008). Antagonism of microRNA-122 in mice by systemically administered LNA-antimiR leads to up-regulation of a large set of predicted target mRNAs in the liver. Nucleic Acids Res 36, 1153-1162.

(5) ClinicalTrials.gov. Safety Study of SPC3649 in Healthy Men. Available at: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00688012?term=SPC3649&rank=2 (Accessed 7-12-2009).

(6) Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research. (Dec. 2, 2009). New drug technology produces marked improvement in hepatitis c therapy in animals; may be useful for a wide range of diseases. Available at: http://www.sfbr.org/News/detail.aspx?id=167

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/10/project-rr-responds-to-hep-c-drug/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/11/17/video-dr-bailey-weighs-in-on-debate/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/11/17/video-dr-bailey-weighs-in-on-debate/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:30:32 +0000 KarenS Related News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/11/17/video-dr-bailey-weighs-in-on-debate/ Jarrod Bailey, PhD, NEAVS/Project R&R science director and author of several studies on the use of chimpanzees in human health research, was recently interviewed for Defining Person, a feature-length documentary film that explores the implications of the international movement to change the legal status of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans from property to person.
Click here to watch video
]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/11/17/video-dr-bailey-weighs-in-on-debate/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/13/study-challenges-importance-of-animals-in-research/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/13/study-challenges-importance-of-animals-in-research/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:37:47 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/13/study-challenges-importance-of-animals-in-research/ Boston – A recently released paper by Project R&R published in the journal Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA 37, 399–416), presents a serious challenge to long-standing claims that animals are an important part of human cancer research. “An Examination of Chimpanzee Use in Human Cancer Research” found that chimpanzees, our closest genetic relatives, have contributed little to combating cancers and cost society not only time but wasted research dollars. The paper comes on the heels of a national ad campaign (ResearchSaves, Sept.16, 2009) launched by The Foundation for Biomedical Research advocating animal use.
Geneticist Jarrod Bailey, Ph.D., Science Director for Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories, conducted a comprehensive analysis of the use of chimpanzees in cancer research over the past four decades as well as proposed future uses.
According to Bailey, “There are significant biological differences between humans and chimpanzees. Despite an overall – although superficial – genetic similarity to humans, and despite claims by the research industry, chimpanzees have proven to be a poor model for human cancer research.”
The study found that chimpanzee tumors are extremely rare and biologically different from human cancers. Literature describing potential new cancer therapies tested in chimpanzees included significant caveats concerning species differences, and described interventions that had not been pursued in humans, presumably due to adverse reactions. Further, available evidence indicates that chimpanzees are not essential in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies for cancer treatment.
The U.S. is the only remaining large-scale user of chimpanzees in biomedical research in the world. Arguments regarding the inefficacy of chimpanzee use in biomedical research for humans have been mounting. H.R. 1326, the Great Ape Protection Act, was recently introduced to the House of Representatives. The bill seeks to end invasive biomedical research and testing on an estimated 1,000 chimpanzees remaining in U.S. laboratories.
The study concludes: “It would be unscientific to claim that chimpanzees are vital to cancer research and reasonable to conclude that cancer research would not suffer if the use of chimpanzees were prohibited in the U.S.” The cancer paper follows other studies investigating chimpanzee use to study human health and disease, including HIV/AIDS vaccine development. That study found chimpanzee use has not benefited but rather has hindered our search for an effective human vaccine against HIV/AIDS.  
]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/13/study-challenges-importance-of-animals-in-research/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/05/project-rr-responds-to-thai-vaccine-study/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/05/project-rr-responds-to-thai-vaccine-study/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:14:48 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/05/project-rr-responds-to-thai-vaccine-study/ On September 24, 2009, results from an HIV vaccine clinical trial (known as the Thai Phase III HIV vaccine study or RV144) revealed a new experimental vaccine to be 31 percent effective in preventing HIV infection. Over 16,000 men and women participated in the trial, which was conducted in Thailand by the Thai Ministry of Public Health and sponsored by the U.S. Army Surgeon General in collaboration with the Department of Defense and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
This is welcome news, but according to Dr. Jarrod Bailey, Science Director of Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in Laboratories, optimism should be guarded.  Notably, greater than two-thirds of the human trial participants remained unprotected from HIV infection. Further, the vaccine’s efficacy in other racial groups and against other strains of HIV remain to be seen.
A comprehensive review by Project R&R revealed that components of the RV144 vaccine have been widely tested in other trials in humans and animals, including chimpanzees.  According to Bailey, previous failures and the limited efficacy of this vaccine are the result of misleading data from chimpanzee experiments. Further, variants of the “ALVAC” component have been trialled alone and in combination with other vaccine types. Almost all provided protection from HIV infection in chimpanzees, but all failed in humans. The “AIDSVAX” component failed to protect several thousand clinical trial volunteers, despite many similar vaccines protecting chimpanzees from infection. Variations on the vaccine used in the Thai trial have been investigated previously with apparent success in chimpanzees, yet failure in humans.
Project R&R’s investigation demonstrates the futility of chimpanzee use in HIV-vaccine research. The Thai partial success should not deflect attention from the myriad vaccines (around 100 vaccines tested in over 200 human trials) that have shown great promise in chimpanzees only to fail in humans. The Thai vaccine trial adds no validity to arguments that chimpanzees are necessary or helpful in AIDS vaccine testing.
The case for human-relevant investigations was echoed by AIDS vaccine expert, clinical virologist Scott Hammer, M.D., who commented on the Thai data: “The positive results point to the crucial role of human testing in the development of any vaccine…human immune system variability or virus diversity can’t really be mimicked by any of the currently used laboratory animal models.”
The Thai vaccine’s limited success underscores the need for alternatives to chimpanzees and other animals in vaccine development. 
 
]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/10/05/project-rr-responds-to-thai-vaccine-study/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/09/09/chimpanzees-suffer-psychologically-like-humans/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/09/09/chimpanzees-suffer-psychologically-like-humans/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:15:33 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News Press Room http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/09/09/chimpanzees-suffer-psychologically-like-humans/
Chimpanzees, like Regis, are languishing in U.S. labs

A study co-authored by NEAVS/Project R&R’s president, vice president, and co-chair that was published last week further documents the severe emotional trauma chimpanzees suffer as a result of laboratory use and confinement. Developmental Context Effects on Bicultural Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees was published in the September issue, Vol 45(5), of the American Psychological Association journal Developmental Psychology.

Psychologists G.A. Bradshaw, Ph.D., Ph.D., Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., Lorin Lindner, Ph.D., and Gloria Grow, Fauna sanctuary director, examined the case histories of three chimpanzees - Billy Jo, Tom, and Regis - all used in research before rescue into sanctuary. The study underscores the ethical implications of cross-fostering nonhuman primates and their use in research.

Says Dr. Capaldo, president of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS): “A federal bill to end the use of chimpanzees in research (the Great Ape Protection Act, H.R. 1326) has been introduced. Studies like ours expose the reality of what it is like for approximately 1000 chimpanzees languishing in U.S. labs. Chimpanzee research must stop if we are to end the suffering caused by decisions - both scientifically flawed and ethically unjustifiable - to use them as living test tubes.”

Billy Jo lived like a human child from infancy to his teenage years when he was sent to a lab. He spent his next fourteen years alone in a 5’X5’X7’ cage, enduring hundreds of procedures. He was rescued into sanctuary at age 29 and died only 8 years later.

Tom’s family was killed in order to capture him in Africa. He spent decades in three different labs undergoing multiple procedures including 369 “knockdowns” - anesthesia by dart gun. Every morning, Tom gags uncontrollably - the result of repeated intubations.

Regis, born in a lab, was only 2 years old when he was treated for his first stress-related injury — he had chewed his finger nail completely off. Regis, fearful if left alone, suffers severe anxiety attacks in which he nearly stops breathing.

The chimpanzees’ symptoms are consistent with traumatic stress, depression, and other psychological conditions. Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees follows Building an Inner Sanctuary: Complex PTSD in Chimpanzees (published April 2008 in the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation), which represented the first time human psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses were applied to chimpanzees, demonstrating that psychological suffering crosses species lines. Together, the papers provide irrefutable arguments to the growing ethical imperative to end the use of chimpanzees in U.S. research.

Photo courtesy Fauna Foundation

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/09/09/chimpanzees-suffer-psychologically-like-humans/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/07/22/neavsproject-rr-on-capitol-hill/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/07/22/neavsproject-rr-on-capitol-hill/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:18:32 +0000 KarenS Project R&R News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/07/22/neavsproject-rr-on-capitol-hill/ Following the reintroduction of the Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326), NEAVS/Project R&R joined Fauna, Chimp Haven, and HSUS for a Congressional briefing (June 25th), which brought the plight of chimpanzees in U.S. labs front and center to Capitol Hill.  The panel included two of the bill’s lead sponsors, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Ashley Wilson on behalf of Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).  The presentations made their mark, resulting in an increase in cosponsors. 

Attendees in the full-to-capacity room learned about the history, current use (Katie Conlee, HSUS), and economic arguments surrounding chimpanzee research; saw footage of an undercover investigation of the New Iberia Research Center (Wayne Pacelle, HSUS); learned about the scientific “Case to End Chimpanzee Research”; and ”met” Tom, Fauna resident and Project R&R Ambassador. 

Rep. Bartlett and Ms. Wilson gave substantive and compelling summaries as to why they are taking leadership on the bill.  Rep. Bartlett, a former head of a primate lab, paused after viewing the footage of New Iberia, obviously moved by the tragic images.  He expressed his regret and bewilderment that so little has changed since he worked in an animal research lab decades ago. He went on to comment on how modern alternatives could and should replace the use of chimpanzees.  Ms. Wilson gave a complete and informative summary of the issue and reasons as to why Mr. Towns introduced the legislation. 

Dr. Capaldo, NEAVS/Project R&R president, reported on our recent progress in her presentation entitled “The Case to End Chimpanzee Research: Scientific, Ethical, and Economic Arguments.”  In it she noted, “NEAVS/Project R&R is scientifically examining the facts surrounding the use of chimpanzees in research.  We have brought together a team of international scientists and have already produced five published scientific papers.”  She added, “We know that when we work to pass the laws of our land, our decisions and actions must be based on reason and reality, not rhetoric – be that of animal rights or science.  Project R&R’s work is adding this voice of reason and credibility to the arguments – indisputable arguments whose time have come.” 

Other panelists included Chimp Haven President Dr. Linda Brent, who spoke on the costs and conditions needed to provide chimpanzees rescued from research with the sanctuary care and homes they so deserve.  She noted that Chimp Haven would welcome new residents and is currently working to secure the funding needed. 

The Congressional briefing ended on a poignant note, through stories about Tom as told by Gloria Grow, Fauna founder and Project R&R co-chair.  An elder chimpanzee, Tom spent three decades in a lab where he was infected with HIV and endured over 369 knockdowns as well as punch liver and bone marrow biopsies.

Ms. Grow ended her presentation with a clip from the award-winning PBS documentary Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History, which captured Tom’s first moments after being released onto the sanctuary islands.  The footage, one of the documentary’s enduring legacies, shows Tom climbing to the top of one of the tallest trees at the sanctuary (cover photo) and overlooking the landscape of his home for the first time.  We watched as Tom did “what comes naturally” even after decades of captivity.  The promise and hope this footage portrayed, along with the presentations that preceded it, left decision-makers in the audience with both an indelible image as well as new facts to ponder.  An increase in the number of cosponsors on the bill was seen in the days following the briefing.

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/07/22/neavsproject-rr-on-capitol-hill/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/06/30/bubbles-born-in-a-lab-in-the-media-once-again/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/06/30/bubbles-born-in-a-lab-in-the-media-once-again/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:27:26 +0000 KarenS Uncategorized http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/06/30/bubbles-born-in-a-lab-in-the-media-once-again/ With the passing of Michael Jackson, worldwide attention is now being focused on Bubbles and the Center for Great Apes where he resides in sanctuary.

See: http://www.centerforgreatapes.org/residents-details.aspx?id=6 
Also: Center for Great Apes statement to the press

 

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/06/30/bubbles-born-in-a-lab-in-the-media-once-again/feed/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/05/14/eu-animal-testing-vote-one-step-forward-and-one-step-stuck/ http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/05/14/eu-animal-testing-vote-one-step-forward-and-one-step-stuck/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 16:13:02 +0000 KarenS Related News http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/05/14/eu-animal-testing-vote-one-step-forward-and-one-step-stuck/ On May 5th the European Parliament voted to ban all research on great apes except in cases when the research would help to conserve the species.  The decision is applauded by all the individual nations worldwide who have already ended or limited the use of great apes in research and is a major boost for current legislative efforts to end their use in the U.S. – the only remaining large scale user of chimpanzees in the world.  However, sadly, in what is being described as a “charter for the multi-billion pound animal research industry to carry on business as usual – with scant regard either for animal welfare or public opinion,” the EU Parliament voted in favor of continuing research involving non-human primates.

The decision revised draft legislation proposed last November by the European Commission that would have severely restricted primate research.  According to a coalition (European Coalition to End Animal Experiments) of animal welfare groups across Europe, including the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), Parliament has significantly weakened the already inadequate proposals of the European Commission to revise the 23-year-old law.  The proposed legislation still must be approved by the European Commission and the European Union’s Council of Ministers sometime after the June 4-7 European parliamentary elections.

]]> http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/05/14/eu-animal-testing-vote-one-step-forward-and-one-step-stuck/feed/