The U.S. is the largest importer of primates. In a previous eNews, NEAVS reported on the cruelty and suffering inflicted on thousands of wild primates who are torn from their families and jungle homes to be exported directly for research or confined in labs to produce monkeys for laboratories worldwide.

Last month, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported on the success of campaigns to end the transportation of animals to laboratories in the United Kingdom. In Israel, the airline El Al refused to export animals for research and the High Court of Justice temporarily halted the export of 90 monkeys from a breeding farm to Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories in the U.S. 

Help end airline transportation of primates for use in research. Ask airlines that still transport primates for research to implement an immediate ban on transporting monkeys for research. Contact the airlines now.

The Animal Welfare Act provides minimal protections to animals in laboratories. Therefore, one of our priorities is promoting and mandating alternatives to animal testing. Find out about our Mandatory Alternatives Petition, which asks the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to mandate the use of scientifically proven testing methods that replace the use of animals. The use of animals, including monkeys, to meet FDA’s requirements for safety and efficacy of all new drugs and medical products accounts for thousands of deaths a year and it is not necessary.

NEAVS on the road

✔ Dr. Theodora Capaldo, NEAVS president, attended a hearing before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife on the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (GAPCSA, S.810) on April 24^th.  NEAVS submitted written testimony to the subcommittee that emphasized key arguments against chimpanzees’ necessity or usefulness in biomedical research as well as the enormous suffering and psychological toll that laboratory research and confinement takes on chimpanzees. Read our testimony here. 

✔ Earlier this month, Dr. Jarrod Bailey, NEAVS’ scientific director, met with New England senators and representatives to explain the scientific and ethical reasons to support GAPCSA.  His visits came on the heels of previous meetings by professional NEAVS’ lobbyists who spoke with legislators about the bill. See Dr. Bailey’s legislative handout summary.

✔  On April 15^th, NEAVS hosted a table at the Worcester, MA VegFest to raise awareness about the use of animals in research and testing. With some 3,000 attendees, the VegFest was a great opportunity to raise awareness about animal testing, animal research, and dissection alternatives. Contact us to receive NEAVS materials to help spread the word at a tabling event in your area.

NEAVS continues to work on behalf of chimpanzees in U.S. Labs

NEAVS submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Council of Council committee reviewing the NIH’s use of chimpanzees and its promise to adhere to the recommendations set forth by the Institute of Medicine in their December 2011 report. Nearly 1,000 chimpanzees are currently warehoused in U.S. laboratories, and, as of May 2011, the U.S. government owned or supported 735 of these chimpanzees. NEAVS’ comments responded to specific questions from the NIH and reiterated the lack of necessity for research on chimpanzees both now and in the future. The committee is currently reviewing all comments.

Contact NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and respectfully let him know that we appreciate NIH’s long overdue serious attention to this matter. Remind him that the 2013 timeline set for completion of NIH's review is too long for the many sick and elderly chimpanzees deserving of retirement now.