Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, just posted a blog entry about the 202 chimpanzees who are slated to be moved from the Alamogordo Primate Facility (APF) to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR).
Wayne expresses it well, “…the time is past for subjecting chimps to painful and unnecessary research, and much of the world is ahead of us in recognizing this fact.”
Hopefully, all of you emailed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius after reading our blog post yesterday.
Now there’s something else you can do – call the Health and Human Services switchboard at 877-696-6775 and ask them to halt the transfer of these 202 chimpanzees and permanently retire them from research.
(When I called this number a moment ago, I got a series of menu options. I chose to leave a message for the Secretary of Health and Human Services at 202-205-5445. Perhaps during business hours there are humans who answer the phones. Let us know how your phone calls go.)
The chimpanzees cannot speak for themselves. Please speak on their behalf.
I called and left a rather awkward message. However, I would rather it be awkward than not at all. I am hoping that these chimpanzees will get a chance to live their lives out in a safe, enriching environment after all that they have already been through. I love what Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is doing and I hope to have the opportunity to visit during my graduate school program!
Rachel – thanks for taking action and letting us know!
I received a notification, from Save the Chimps (STC), that a chimpanzee has passed away.
His name is Juan and here’s his story:
08-13-1975: Juan was born at a chimpanzee breeding facility in Arizona. He spent the first 10 with other chimps and had little human contact.
11-25-1985: Juan was sent to LEMSIP and placed in solitary confinement, anesthetized once a month for: blood draws, liver biopsies, taste bud biopsy (once).
1987: Sent to Coulston and used as a breeding male, but no children. He was used in at least 5 different biomedical research studies. He began self-mutilating, picking at own skin until raw.
09-16-2002: Rescued by Save the Chimps.
06-30-2008: Headed to his Florida island in the sun.
06-2010: Over a period of days, Juan became paralyzed from the waist down, an MRI showed Cancer on his spine cord. The difficult decision was made, by vets and caregivers, to euthanize him.
07-02-2010: Juan was taken to his building for a final goodbye with his family. Then he was taken out onto his sunny island and died under an unobstructed blue sky.
I’ll admit I shed a few tears when I read about Juan, but it wasn’t because he died, its because he spent the last eight years of his life being loved and cared for.
I want other lab chimpanzees to experience sanctuary as Juan did. This why we place phone calls, emails and letters, to the powers-that-be, that chimpanzees don’t belong in laboratories as research subjects.
There are two Texas labs, that use chimpanzees: Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) and Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research (KCCMR) of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Bastrop, TX. The new addition of chimps to SNPRC will be a rough estimate of 370 chimpanzees. Along with KCCMR, they have 185 chimpanzees, per their website, this means my home state of Texas will have, about 555 chimps to be used in experiments. Now that’s a sad, sad thing to be known for.
I just called the number provided and left a message…..I truly hope that everyone is following suit and that the Secretary’s office is flooded with calls. Thanks for giving us the information so that we can at least try to do something about it! Love you guys!
I called again. I spoke to the answering machine. I said that I felt that they are funded by the American Taxpayers and that they should respond to Public sentiment about this. The Alamogordo Chimpanzees have already served their time. Please listen to us, let them retire where they are.
I called, did not get a person, and left my comments and made it clear that I am a US taxpayer, as hearing my accent they might think otherwise.
I just called and after a lengthy menu tree was given a direct number – 301.435.0888. This number is a message line – so I suggest you plan out a 30 second message – but it does give you the opportunity to re-record if you feel you did not get you point across the first try. Hopefully there will be strength in numbers!
I tried three times during my workday and got a busy signal so I double checked the number I programmed in my phone and it’s correct. It’s a good sign that the line is staying busy! I will keep trying and express my displeasure at this move and that my tax dollars are important and not for abusing animals! Tactfully, of course.
I just called the 301 number and spoke to a live person!!! I had written out a little blurb ready to leave the message but got to convey my thoughts directly and personally!! She took my name and email and assured me that she would share my concerns with the director. She also said that they had been getting a number of messages about the fate of these 202 chimps…..keep calling everyone!!!