Lab Animals; Not a necessity and No it will NOT help cure cancer (so to speak); There are other ways to deal!
Recently Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and David Vitter (R-La.) introduced the
Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697), which
would revise the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act. The bill contains
many provisions that will reduce and replace animals in chemical tests, and will
bring about the vision of 21st century toxicity testing—using quick and
human-relevant in vitro tests—recommended by the National Academy of
Sciences to protect public health and prevent animal testing.
We need your help to ensure Senators support this bill.
The bill places restrictions on animal testing—which are stronger than current law—that will over time ensure the development and adoption of nonanimal methods. Principles to replace and reduce animal-based test methods and to increase the use of information from human-based and nonanimal methods are integrated into the heart of the legislation. The bill also requires the EPA to fund the development and use of nonanimal methods.
Unfortunately, while some environmental groups support the bill, a few groups are actively opposing this bill, urging senators to vote against it, and supporting an opposing bill that strips many provisions to modernize testing. They refuse to support requirements on the EPA and the chemical industry to use scientifically relevant nonanimal test methods when available. Their efforts will delay the protection of public health and maintain reliance on animal tests for the foreseeable future.
The Physicians Committee will continue to push Congress, but we need your help. Please call or e-mail your senator today, and tell him or her you support restrictions on animal testing as outlined in the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697).
After contacting your senator, please forward this message to your friends.
Wild & Weird: Animal Behavior Unlocks Compassion In Prison
We need your help to ensure Senators support this bill.
The bill places restrictions on animal testing—which are stronger than current law—that will over time ensure the development and adoption of nonanimal methods. Principles to replace and reduce animal-based test methods and to increase the use of information from human-based and nonanimal methods are integrated into the heart of the legislation. The bill also requires the EPA to fund the development and use of nonanimal methods.
Unfortunately, while some environmental groups support the bill, a few groups are actively opposing this bill, urging senators to vote against it, and supporting an opposing bill that strips many provisions to modernize testing. They refuse to support requirements on the EPA and the chemical industry to use scientifically relevant nonanimal test methods when available. Their efforts will delay the protection of public health and maintain reliance on animal tests for the foreseeable future.
The Physicians Committee will continue to push Congress, but we need your help. Please call or e-mail your senator today, and tell him or her you support restrictions on animal testing as outlined in the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697).
After contacting your senator, please forward this message to your friends.
Wild & Weird: Animal Behavior Unlocks Compassion In Prison
Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and
evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, teaches "Animal Behavior and
Conservation" to male prisoners nearly every Friday at 8:30 a.m. at the Boulder
County Jail. It's such a popular class that there aren't enough seats for all
those who attend."Sometimes there's tension" before class starts, Bekoff told National Geographic in a recent interview, "but when I start talking about animals, it's like the air goes out of the balloon." Prisoners learn about current issues in conservation, watch animal videos and share their memories of experiences with pets as children. Bekoff notes that animals are "social catalysts" for compassion in humans, and prisoners are no exception.
"They are appalled at the possibility of removing wolves from the endangered species list, and at local killings of coyotes and black bears," said Bekoff. "Many are from rural areas, so they're sensitive to human encroachment on wild lands. They resent it when animals are cast out and labeled as the problem."
Read more about this intriguing class in National Geographic.
As one of our closest supporters, I want to make sure you have seen the news
about Hercules and Leo — our chimpanzee plaintiffs wrongly imprisoned inside a
SUNY animal experimentation laboratory.
Thanks to your support, our top legal team from the Nonhuman Rights Project argued on their behalf in a New York Supreme Court yesterday. Here are some of the news reports of Hercules' and Leo's historic day in court:
For a general overview of the proceedings, follow this link for a short Fox News TV report.
Wired magazine focuses on the fact that Justice Barbara Jaffe decided to call both sides into court for a hearing at all. It quotes me as telling reporters after the hearing that the fact that she held a full hearing represents a victory in itself. "Many human beings have these kinds of hearings," I said. "Chimpanzees are now being treated like all the other autonomous beings of this world."
Wired also takes note of how the judge challenged New York Assistant Attorney General Christopher Coulston's argument that there's no precedent for a case like this. It is the very essence of the common law, she said, that it "evolves according to new discoveries and social mores." And so, she asked, "Isn't it incumbent on judiciaries to at least consider whether a class of beings may be granted a right?"
The New York Times quotes me telling the court that chimpanzees "are the kinds of beings who can remember the past and plan ahead for the future, which is one of the reasons imprisoning a chimp is at least as bad, and maybe worse, than imprisoning a person." They are enough like humans that they should have a right to "bodily liberty," even if other rights, like voting or freedom of religion, are beyond them.
The Guardian also takes up the scientific evidence presented by the Nonhuman Rights Project, citing the voluminous research on "chimpanzee intelligence, emotions and consciousness" and noting that Hercules and Leo are "autonomous and self-determining beings."
Courthouse News picks up on the parallel that the Nonhuman Rights Project draws between the imprisonment of chimpanzees and human slavery, adding that Coulston "bristled" at the comparison. "This language of animals as slaves is exactly what I'm talking about of the slippery slope," he said, arguing that the case could open up the possibility of court cases on the rights of zoo animals, farmed animals, and even pets.
I replied that this case is specifically about animals who demonstrate autonomy, and Wired quotes me as saying, "The purpose of the writ of habeas corpus isn't to protect a human being; it's to protect autonomy." In other words, this case is about the core values of American society and New York law, which place great value on liberty. "And liberty is synonymous with autonomy."
"Chimps are autonomous and self-determined beings," I said. "They are not governed by instinct. They are self-conscious. They have language, they have mathematics, they have material and social culture. They are the kinds of beings who can remember the past and plan for the future." And just as in a human those capacities are grounds for the right to be free, the same applies to chimpanzees.
Coulston also argued that the whole question of the treatment of animals like these belonged in the legislature, not in the courts. No court in the United States has ever granted relief to nonhuman animals through habeas corpus.
I responded that there was a simple reason for this: "Before the Nonhuman Rights Project started filing these suits, nobody had ever asked."
As always, thank you, our friends and supporters, for helping to make these lawsuits possible. As I said yesterday, the fact that the judge brought both parties into court for a hearing is a victory in itself. Justice Jaffe will be issuing a decision in due course.
Meanwhile, the Nonhuman Rights Project presses ahead with its appeals to New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, in the cases of two other chimpanzees, Tommy and Kiko.
As always, we'll keep you closely in the loop on the developments.
Thanks to your support, our top legal team from the Nonhuman Rights Project argued on their behalf in a New York Supreme Court yesterday. Here are some of the news reports of Hercules' and Leo's historic day in court:
For a general overview of the proceedings, follow this link for a short Fox News TV report.
Wired magazine focuses on the fact that Justice Barbara Jaffe decided to call both sides into court for a hearing at all. It quotes me as telling reporters after the hearing that the fact that she held a full hearing represents a victory in itself. "Many human beings have these kinds of hearings," I said. "Chimpanzees are now being treated like all the other autonomous beings of this world."
Wired also takes note of how the judge challenged New York Assistant Attorney General Christopher Coulston's argument that there's no precedent for a case like this. It is the very essence of the common law, she said, that it "evolves according to new discoveries and social mores." And so, she asked, "Isn't it incumbent on judiciaries to at least consider whether a class of beings may be granted a right?"
The New York Times quotes me telling the court that chimpanzees "are the kinds of beings who can remember the past and plan ahead for the future, which is one of the reasons imprisoning a chimp is at least as bad, and maybe worse, than imprisoning a person." They are enough like humans that they should have a right to "bodily liberty," even if other rights, like voting or freedom of religion, are beyond them.
The Guardian also takes up the scientific evidence presented by the Nonhuman Rights Project, citing the voluminous research on "chimpanzee intelligence, emotions and consciousness" and noting that Hercules and Leo are "autonomous and self-determining beings."
Courthouse News picks up on the parallel that the Nonhuman Rights Project draws between the imprisonment of chimpanzees and human slavery, adding that Coulston "bristled" at the comparison. "This language of animals as slaves is exactly what I'm talking about of the slippery slope," he said, arguing that the case could open up the possibility of court cases on the rights of zoo animals, farmed animals, and even pets.
I replied that this case is specifically about animals who demonstrate autonomy, and Wired quotes me as saying, "The purpose of the writ of habeas corpus isn't to protect a human being; it's to protect autonomy." In other words, this case is about the core values of American society and New York law, which place great value on liberty. "And liberty is synonymous with autonomy."
"Chimps are autonomous and self-determined beings," I said. "They are not governed by instinct. They are self-conscious. They have language, they have mathematics, they have material and social culture. They are the kinds of beings who can remember the past and plan for the future." And just as in a human those capacities are grounds for the right to be free, the same applies to chimpanzees.
Coulston also argued that the whole question of the treatment of animals like these belonged in the legislature, not in the courts. No court in the United States has ever granted relief to nonhuman animals through habeas corpus.
I responded that there was a simple reason for this: "Before the Nonhuman Rights Project started filing these suits, nobody had ever asked."
As always, thank you, our friends and supporters, for helping to make these lawsuits possible. As I said yesterday, the fact that the judge brought both parties into court for a hearing is a victory in itself. Justice Jaffe will be issuing a decision in due course.
Meanwhile, the Nonhuman Rights Project presses ahead with its appeals to New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, in the cases of two other chimpanzees, Tommy and Kiko.
As always, we'll keep you closely in the loop on the developments.
| Pain, Fear, and Death at a Monkey Dealer | A PETA Eyewitness Investigation |
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FORMER LAB CHIMPS ABANDONED IN LIBERIA - HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO!
Animal protection organizations, including AAVS, are
mobilizing to provide emergency funding for the care of 66 chimpanzees, who were
abandoned by the New York Blood Center (NYBC). According to a New York
Times article today, NYBC set up a lab in Liberia in the 1970s, so it would
have easy access to chimpanzees to use in experiments to study hepatitis and
HIV. The chimpanzees have been retired for at least a decade, and, in the past,
NYBC has acknowledged its responsibility to financially support these animals,
including in retirement. However, as of March 6, it has completely stopped all
funding. Your help is needed to provide emergency support for these chimpanzees! A special GoFundMe account has been launched to quickly raise funds.
Although the chimps live on six mangrove islands where they can move about freely, they are completely dependent on humans for their care, especially for food and fresh water. In fact, until recently, when the fresh water system was fixed, caretakers had no other recourse but to give chimps cups of water to drink every other day.
NYBC's failure to provide for the lifetime care of these animals is unacceptable and ethically indefensible. Please sign this petition urging NYBC to accept its responsibly to provide for the lifetime care of these chimps.
Although the Liberian caretakers continue their important
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Breaking Video: Pain, Fear, and Death for Monkeys at Filthy Florida Warehouse
PETA's latest-breaking eyewitness investigation found that workers violently captured monkeys—causing them sheer terror—and systemically neglected them at Primate Products, Inc. (PPI), in Hendry County, Florida, a filthy monkey warehouse that has been awarded federal contracts worth more than $13 million and sends monkeys to Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., and Columbia and New York universities, among others.
As
you can see in this shocking video
footage, PPI workers chased after and grabbed monkeys by their sensitive
tails—causing them pain and extreme fear. Workers aggressively swung nets at
them, yanked them off fences they were clinging to, and even threw them into
nets.
The
best thing that you can do for the monkeys at PPI—or those who might be on their
way there—is to ask Hendry County
officials to close PPI for good.
Together, we can make a difference for these suffering animals—and help prevent more of them from ending up at this hellhole. All you have to do is take action today. |
Provide emergency support for chimpanzees abandoned in Liberia!
We’re halfway to our goal!! I can’t thank you enough for your support. The chimpanzees are lucky to have all of you looking out for them.
We’ll be putting your donations to work right away for the chimps! Our first priority is to work with our contacts on the ground in Liberia to ensure the chimps are provided daily with nutritious food and fresh water. We will also make sure their caretakers (several Liberians who have been volunteering since New York Blood Center pulled funding in March) are compensated for their hard work and dedication. Once the immediate needs of the chimpanzees are taken care of, we will be focusing on working with the coalition and individual experts towards a long term solution. Importantly, we will be pressing New York Blood Center to provide funding for this effort.
If you haven’t already, please contact the New York Blood Center and tell them they need to step up and fulfill their responsibility to these chimpanzees: www.change.org/abandonedchimps
And, please keep sharing with all of your friends and family—it’s making a difference! Thank you so much!
Sixty six chimpanzees in Liberia, Africa have recently been abandoned by the New York Blood Center (NYBC) and are now in serious danger of dehydration and starvation without your help. Many of the chimpanzees were captured from the wild and exploited for decades by NYBC for medical testing before finally being retired to a small group of islands off of the coast of Liberia. In spite of their promise to ensure lifetime care for the chimps, in March 2015 – while Liberia was still reeling from the largest Ebola outbreak in history – the NYBC withdrew all funding to care for and feed the chimpanzees.
These chimpanzees have been through so much already—from the research they endured to civil wars in Liberia that resulted in the death of many of the original 200 chimpanzees. We urgently need your help to save their lives now.Please donate now to help us reach our initial goal of $150,000 in emergency funds so these chimps can be provided with the food, water, and care they so critically need!
After donating, sign our Change.org petition telling New York Blood Center and its partners to immediately reinstate funding for the care of the chimpanzees!
Learn more
The New York Blood Center is a large American non-profit corporation that provides blood, develops blood related products and conducts medical research. In the 1970’s, NYBC partnered with the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research to create Vilab II to obtain and breed chimpanzees for use in research and testing. After experimenting on the chimps for decades and financially benefiting from these animals, NYBC decided the chimps were no longer useful for research and retired them to small islands near the lab.
Previously, NYBC publicly acknowledged their responsibility to these animals and committed to their lifetime care but that came to an end on March 5, 2015 when they turned their back on the animals and cut off support. They provided no realistic or lasting arrangement for the care of the chimpanzees who will quickly suffer from dehydration and starvation without constant care.
Thankfully, some of the chimps’ longtime Liberian caretakers have continued to care for the chimps voluntarily. A small number of caring individuals and organizations have provided emergency funding for food and water. This is not a sustainable solution for the chimpanzees or their caretakers. Without additional funds to provide for the needs of these chimpanzees, they will quickly suffer from dehydration and starvation. We can’t let this happen! Donate today to save these chimps!
The coalition
Several organizations from around the world have banded together to help these chimpanzees. See a full list of coalition members below. Currently, this coalition is focused on the emergency needs of the chimpanzees: food, water, and basic care. However, NYBC and its corporate partners must be pressured to reinstate funding for the care of the chimps – so please make sure to sign our petitions after you donate! Ultimately, with your help, we will work together to find a long-term solution to ensure the humane, lifetime care of these chimpanzees. Together we can give these chimpanzees the care they deserve.
Coalition members
American Anti-Vivisection Society
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Center for Great Apes
Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW
Fauna Foundation
Humane Society International
Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association
IDA-Africa
International Primatological Society
ISPARE: International Sammy Project for Animal Rescue and Education
IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group
Jane Goodall Institute
Japan Monkey Centre
Liberia Animal Welfare and Conservation Society
Lola Ya Bonobo
Kibale Chimpanzee Project
National Anti-Vivisection Society
New England Anti-Vivisection Society
Pan African Sanctuary Alliance
Project Primate, Inc
SAGA: Support for African/Asian Great Apes
The Fund for Animals
The Humane Society of the United States
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
One of the chimpanzee groups abandoned in Liberia:
