March 29, 2005

The Boston Globe
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA  02205-5819

Dear Editors:

Charges against Charles River Laboratories (CRL) referred to in the March 29 article “Cruelty charges dropped against Charles River Labs” raise the troubling realities of life for chimpanzees used in research.

The American public may not be aware that the tragedies that led to allegations of animal cruelty are not unique to the Alamogordo laboratory. Hundreds of chimpanzees are suffering and languishing right now in labs after having been used up by the vivisection industry.

So like us, chimpanzees suffer not only from the years of physical use and abuse in experimental protocols, but just as importantly, from the deadening boredom, imprisonment and dank cement and steel that constitute their day-to-day lives.

All of these chimpanzees should be retired immediately into sanctuary. There, many will get to breathe fresh air and see sunshine for the first time in their lives. They deserve nothing less.

Sincerely,

Theo Capaldo, EdD
President
New England Anti-Vivisection Society