October 4, 2012 • Posted in Project R&R News
Thank you to all who joined us for our webinar. To view a recording, please visit our homepage.
The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act, signed into law in 2000, could retire hundreds of chimpanzees from research immediately. The Act authorizes sending chimpanzees to sanctuary who are considered “not needed.” But “not needed” has never been defined.
NEAVS invites you to our webinar, Enforcing the CHIMP Act: The Case for Criteria to Retire Chimpanzees in Labs to Sanctuary to learn more about our campaign.
Thursday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m. (EDT)
The webinar will discuss what life in a laboratory is like for chimpanzees; the science that shows how unnecessary and ineffective chimpanzee use is in research meant to benefit humans; and our Rulemaking Petition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking them to define eligibility criteria for retiring chimpanzees instead of allowing labs to decide as HHS currently does. The presentations will last 30 minutes, followed by listener questions. Our presenters:
- Psychologist and NEAVS President Dr. Theodora Capaldo will explain the Rulemaking Petition and discuss the retirement criteria it sets forth.
- Geneticist and NEAVS Science Director Dr. Jarrod Bailey will overview the scientific reasons why chimpanzees are not needed or useful.
- Gloria Grow, Fauna Sanctuary founder/director and co-chair of NEAVS’ Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Labs, will share her personal experience with the physical and psychological toll labs have on chimpanzees and their recovery in sanctuary.
Despite scientific evidence showing they are unnecessary for research, more than 900 chimpanzees languish in U.S. labs today. Many are elderly and sick, and 80-90% are not in active studies. A law – the CHIMP Act – already exists that would retire these chimpanzees to sanctuary, but its mandates are not being fulfilled. In response, NEAVS, the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA), and other co-petitioners have filed a Rulemaking Petition asking the government to define when a chimpanzee is not needed for research and therefore eligible for retirement and sanctuary.
Please RSVP to help us plan (RSVP not required to attend). Following this live webinar, a recording of the presentations, Q&A, and accompanying slide show will be archived at our Project R&R campaign website.