http://www.releasechimps.org Project R&R aims to end the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research in the United States and secure their permanent retirement in sanctuaries. Tue, 06 May 2008 18:38:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Following the 2002 death of Rex, a 16-year-old chimpanzee at the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF), the New Mexico Supreme Court is determining if his death was due to abandonment/neglect or if staff conduct fell within the definition of "practice of veterinary care." In 2002, Ashley, another 16-year-old chimpanzee, died at APF ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2008/05/06/apf-and-the-new-mexico-supreme-court/ Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts chimpanzees from laboratories in the same way as it does human trauma survivors, according to a paper published this week in vol. 9(1) of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. Building an Inner Sanctuary: Complex PTSD in Chimpanzees demonstrates that psychological suffering crosses species ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2008/04/24/chimpanzees-suffer-ptsd/ Animal Organizations and Scientists Urge Congress to Protect Our Closest Living Relatives A bi-partisan group in Congress today introduced The Great Ape Protection Act to end invasive research and testing on an estimated 1,200 chimpanzees remaining in U.S. laboratories. The bill would also retire approximately 600 federally owned chimpanzees currently in laboratories ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2008/04/17/federal-bill-introduced-to-end-invasive-research-on-chimpanzees/ NEAVS/Project R&R submitted testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. “Congress annually considers… appropriations measures, which provide funding for numerous [federal] activities, …[and] general government operations such as the administration of federal agencies.” (http://appropriations.house.gov/) The House and Senate Appropriations Committees ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2008/03/31/appropriations-testimony/ Escaped research chimp killed in Bastrop center © 2008 The Associated Press AUSTIN — An 18-year-old research chimpanzee was shot and killed after he escaped from an enclosure at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center facility in Bastrop. A team that specializes in safe animal capture tried to catch the chimp, named Tony, for ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2008/03/13/tragic-shooting-at-bastrop/ Original Intent of the CHIMP Act Finally Realized As Project R&R reported to you last week, the House and Senate passed the "Chimp Haven is Home Act." (See below.)  The bill was signed into law yesterday by President Bush, prohibiting all "retired" chimpanzees in federal sanctuary from ever being returned to research.  Thus, the original intent ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/12/27/permanent-protection-passes/ On November 6, 2007, Maya, Sophie, and Spock - three chimpanzees from the now closed Quebec City Zoo - arrived at their new permanent home at the Fauna Foundation sanctuary in Montreal.  Their transition has been full of wonder, challenges, and the generosity of their new friends like Sue Ellen and Pepper, ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/12/13/fauna_welcomes_new_family_members/ On November 14th, a coalition of animal organizations – of which NEAVS is a founding member – submitted a precedent setting petition to the U.S. government that would potentially save tens of millions of animals from unthinkable suffering and death. The Mandatory Alternatives Petition (MAP) would require that instead of using ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/11/14/mandatory-alternatives-petition-filed/ Project R&R was deeply saddened to learn yesterday of the passing of Washoe Chimpanzee. She was 42 years old. Washoe gained public attention for her ability to learn sign language -- the first non-human to acquire a human language. Washoe was born in Africa, around September of 1965. Captured in the ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/11/01/chimpanzee-community-grieves-washoe/ Emory has been assessed a $15,000 civil penalty for alleged Animal Welfare Act violations at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center last year.  Read more (Emory Wheel) Read Project R&R's Letter-to-the-Editor http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/10/11/yerkes-hit-with-15000-penalty/ Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History, the moving PBS Nature documentary that captured the hearts of millions of viewers, garnered an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft for Research. Congratulations to award-winning filmmaker Allison Argo and to all those who helped her make this film possible: Cici Clark, Associate Producer; Gloria ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/10/11/chimpanzee-documentary-wins-emmy/ Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), a new chimpanzee sanctuary located outside Seattle, will welcome its first seven residents this coming spring when Annie, Burreto, Foxy, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra are released from the Buckshire Corporation laboratory in Pennsylvania.  They are the last chimpanzees held by Buckshire, a private lab with ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/10/04/buckshire-lab-chimpanzees-to-retire/ The Project R&R Interview with Gloria Grow, Fauna Foundation Director and Project R&R Honorary Chair R&R: Gloria can you give us an update on Tom, who ends the film with his strong, joyous climb up that marvelous big tree on his island? Grow: The New York Times wrote: 'The final scene shows Tom, ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/10/01/update-on-the-chimpanzees-featured-in-pbs-documentary/ "The elder chimpanzees' stories and moving portraits were extremely well received at the AARP expo attended predominantly by people who themselves understand the challenges of aging and the need to one day 'retire.' The plight of chimpanzees who have been 'worked' in research for 40 or 50 years resonated ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/09/17/elder-chimpanzees-inspire-elder-humans-to-help/ "Therefore, after careful review of existing chimpanzee resources, NCRR [National Center for Research Resources] has determined that it does not have the financial resources to support the breeding of chimpanzees that are owned or supported by NCRR."  Read more (National Institutes of Health Official Website) http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/05/25/us-ends-federal-funding-for-breeding-chimpanzees/ Thanks in part to efforts by Project R&R supporters, the National Center for Research Resources (one of the 27 Institutes/Centers of the National Institutes of Health, NIH) has announced that: “…after careful review of existing chimpanzee resources, NCRR has determined that it does not have the financial resources to support the ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/05/22/breeding-moratorium-decision-good-news/ Emory University's Yerkes Primate Research Center has been awarded a $10 million federal grant to compare how mental abilities decline in aging humans, chimpanzees and rhesus macaques. Read more (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) Read Project R&R's Letter-to-the-Editor FOR MORE INFORMATION Read "A Brief Overview of Chimpanzees and Aging Research" See a summary of Yerkes Primate Center's ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/05/03/emoryyerkes-receives-10-millon-grant/ Help rescue Wenka and 17 other Elder chimpanzees before time runs out. Ask for their release from research labs and placement into permanent sanctuary. Wenka is a frail 53-year-old chimpanzee, held at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, who deserves the comfort of sanctuary before she dies. In captivity, chimpanzees ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/05/02/help-wenka-get-out-of-the-lab-before-its-too-late/ An Austrian judge turned down a request this week to appoint a woman as legal guardian of a chimpanzee.  Read more (Nature.com- subscription needed to read full article) http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/04/27/austrian-court-denies-legal-guardian-for-chimpanzee/ Project R&R’s In Their Own Words was warmly welcomed by nearly 250 participants at Chicago’s Cultural Center on Thursday, March 22nd. The program brought to life the stories of chimpanzees from research to sanctuary through first-hand accounts by former laboratory caregiver Nancy Megna and Fauna sanctuary leader and Project ... http://www.releasechimps.org/2007/04/06/in-their-own-words-sells-out-in-chicago/