Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

biomedical research

Take Action Tuesday: Petition to Merck

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EOA take action tuesday

Have you heard about Brandon Wood? He is one of the most active chimpanzee advocates, always working tirelessly to help chimps through petitions, fundraisers, and tabling events. Did I mention he’s just 12 years old? He’s an inspiration! His latest project is a petition to a drug company Merck, a private biomedical testing lab, to stop biomedical testing on chimpanzees. Though the National Institutes of Health is moving toward retiring government-funded chimps in research, there are still many chimps in privately-funded labs. Lend Brandon a hand and help the chimps today by signing his petition! And don’t forget to share it with your friends, too.

brandon letter writing

Negra on her own in the cabin

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There are very few jobs that provide as much fulfillment as working for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. It’s not a stress-free occupation, and there are some heavy issues that we deal with every day, but watching the chimpanzees settle into themselves and their lives at the sanctuary is the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. For me, a lot of that reward and the motivation to get through the stress comes from Negra.

It’s too simple to just say that I love her. I am devoted to her. Each new step she takes fills my heart even more. I mentioned this in my reflections for our 3rd Anniversary blog post, which is fun to read and hard to believe that was almost two years ago! I hope that Negra will be with us for many more years, but you never know what the future will bring. Each moment with her, and with all of the chimpanzees, is precious.

This morning was no exception. Volunteer Connie put out some lettuce on Young’s Hill and served the rest of breakfast in the greenhouse. Once Negra discovered the lettuce (one of her favorite foods) outside, she sat herself down in her cabin and enjoyed the warmth and comfort of the cabin that we named for her while all of the other chimpanzees were in the greenhouse. I didn’t want to get too close with the camera because Negra is at times weary of people taking photos when she’s on the hill, but I did take a few photos from a distance. I hope the photos make you as happy as seeing her out there made me.

Negra in cabin long view

Negra sitting in cabin with lettuce

Take Action Tuesday: NIH comment form

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Last week we sent out a newsletter regarding the good news from the NIH working group who met last Tuesday. To review some of the main points from the report, read Sarah’s blog here. They made several recommendations, but the biggest bottom line is: most of the chimpanzees currently being used in research should be retired into the Federal Sanctuary System, but a small number (they suggested around 50) should be held back in a reserve colony for possible future research.

The next step in the process is to solicit public comment regarding the recommendations, which is located here. It is quite daunting in its length and detail—but don’t let that stop you. All you need to do is fill in your name, email, and then scroll all the way to the bottom to fill in a box labeled “Overall Comments.” If you want to be more specific, leave a comment in the field for “Chimpanzee Research Colony Size and Placement: Recommendation SP2.” You can get to that field easily by selecting the “colony size and placement” option from the drop menu at the top of the page.

In your comments, encourage the NIH to accept the recommendations, but also remind them that there is no reason to have any chimpanzees in research—not even a small group of 50. You could mention that no other industrialized nation tests on chimpanzees. Chimpanzees have complex social, psychological, and physical needs that cannot be met in labs. They have been imprisoned for a crime they did not commit, and are injected with diseases or vaccines, forced to undergo surgeries, sometimes kept in solitary confinement, and regularly shot with darts to be anesthetized. Remember to remain polite and be succinct. If you want to share what you submit in the comments section here for others to see, feel free! We’ll share a copy of what we submit soon too.

If you haven’t seen it already, check out this site called “The Last 1000” that is a countdown to the end of chimpanzees in biomedical laboratories. You’ll notice that Negra’s daughter Heidi is on the list along with Jody’s children Levi and April, and Foxie’s son David. These remaining research chimpanzees deserve the kind of life that the Cle Elum Seven have—one with friends, laughter, sunshine, good food, giant nests, fun enrichment, and perhaps most importantly—choices.

Negra's daughter, Heidi
Negra’s daughter, Heidi

 

Captivity

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We’ve been talking a lot about Jamie recently. She provides us with a lot to talk about, both on this blog and amongst the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary. We’ve told you about her artistic side, her love of cowboy boots, the challenges she presents to her caregivers to keep her busy mind active, and we’ve reflected on her complicated personality. There’s one thing that I sometimes mention to people when talking about Jamie in person. It’s something that I was thinking about as I took the photos below, and I don’t think I’ve shared it on the blog yet. So here it is –

I think Jamie is acutely aware of her captivity. I don’t say this about all of the chimpanzees. I don’t think Foxie, for example, with her goofy, please-everyone personality, thinks about how unfair it is that she is on the other side of the fencing from the humans, that we make a lot of decisions for her, and that we go off somewhere else at the end of the day. It’s impossible to know for sure, but I believe Jamie is very aware of all of these things, and she knows it’s not fair. I agree with her. Chimpanzees don’t belong in captivity. We do the best we possibly can with the resources we have to provide a happy life for the Cle Elum Seven, but we could never provide them with everything, especially the true freedom that they deserve (If you’re wondering why we don’t offer the chimps more freedom, take a look at this blog post and the link in it about the true nature of chimpanzees).

But things are getting better. More and more people are accepting the simple truth that chimpanzees don’t belong in captivity. The release of the NIH Council of Councils working group report the other day could be a watershed moment for chimpanzees in biomedical research in the United States, and the growing awareness of who chimpanzees are and what they deserve has played a huge role in this moment. It’s the countdown to the end of chimpanzees in biomedical research, and, in fact, someone is counting down – Lori Gruen launched a new website today called the Last 1,000. It is a list of all of the chimpanzees still in research and a tracking of these individuals from lab to sanctuary by highlighting their name or number in green. Lori’s already been able to highlight some of the chimpanzees who went from New Iberia to Chimp Haven just this week.

Though chimpanzees do not belong in captivity, those who are deserve the best quality of life we can provide them. Thank you for being a part of providing for Jamie.

Jamie top of structure in greenhouse

Jamie profile close up

Jamie side glance

jamie eyes closed

Team Burrito Wins

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Burrito is sending a great big thank you to everyone who donated towards Team Burrito! He is now officially the Team Chimp winner, and aptly so with his 30th birthday happening tomorrow. We received 17 donations or pledges yesterday, totaling $1,200. One generous donation was “from” a dog named after a chimpanzee! I know I’ve said this before, but the Cle Elum Seven have the very best supporters. Burrito has quite a few admirers, and if you’re not yet one of them, below are some photos from over the years which will surely win you over. A big thank you to all who participated in the Team Chimp fundraising, making every one of the chimpanzees winners.

web burrito popper toy cute funny playroom PR _MG_5864 web burrito missy playface close up cute greenhouse gh IMG_6951 Burrito with peas web burrito popper toy cute funny poke playroom PR _MG_5881 web Burrito sit arms crossed cute framed by ladder gh IMG_8975 web Burrito cute face hold coconut birthday party playroom IMG_0022 burrito biting log Burrito eating snow web Burrito cute toy outdoor area greenhouse DSC_0804 burrito-cute-with-chow burrito hugging coconut web Burrito cute face greenhouse outdoor area IMG_0839

burrtio end of plank web Burrito Annie hug Negra foreground youngs hill release day first time yh DSC_0740 Burrito in the distance young's hill web Burrito eat snow Young's Hill YH IMG_0125 web Burrito sit in Negra's cabin blanket hold chow look at camera Young's Hill YH IMG_9701web Burrito platform on back Foxie Jamie YH IMG_0868 web Burrito sit on beam YH IMG_8894 burrito eating grass web Burrito sun in face YH IMG_1042 web Burrito stand on log YH IMG_8414

Burrito in box close-up web Burrito close-up greenhouse GH IMG_3639

Foxie and Choices

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We’ve written a lot about how one of the most important characteristics of a true sanctuary is giving chimpanzees the opportunity to make their own choices (You’ll find a search box on the right hand side of the blog – just scroll down a bit. Type in “choices” and several blog posts will appear).

J.B.’s post yesterday about all of the different things that the chimpanzees were doing in the morning is an illustration of how the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees have really embraced the freedom to make their own decisions about what to do.

Another hallmark of a true sanctuary is getting to know the chimpanzees as unique individuals and learning what they like, what they don’t like, and how to make their lives better on an individual basis. That’s really a lot of what our blog is all about, now that I think about it – we’re just inviting you to see this process.

Recently, I took a cue from Jackie and presented Foxie with the opportunity to choose among a bunch of her favorite things by bringing out the bin of trolls and other dolls and letting her indicate which ones she wanted. She seemed to really enjoy watching me pick the dolls out of the bin and set them up in front of her:

Foxie and her many dolls

 

We did this together for quite a while and she ended up choosing about 11 of the dolls (at one point attempting, unsuccessfully, to carry all of them at once).

Here’s the first doll she decided she needed to have:

foxie choosing dora

 

She started to nest with a few of her dolls and put her back up against the fencing to be groomed. One of the Dora dolls obliged, which made Foxie quite happy:

dora grooms foxie

 

Another very important mission of our sanctuary is to allow the seven chimpanzees in our care to serve as examples of the hundreds of chimpanzees who are still languishing in laboratories or in other terrible conditions. We want you to fall in love with Foxie, as we caregivers have, and to use that love to advocate for other chimpanzees in need.

Speaking of advocacy, please continue to share the petition to the NIH insisting on the release 110 chimpanzees to a true sanctuary. As I write this, we have 1,750 signatures to go before we reach our goal of 5,000.

You may have heard that an NIH spokesperson told NBC that the NIH had changed their tune and were now saying that all 110 chimpanzees would be going to Chimp Haven. This, however, was news to Chimp Haven, as you can read in their statement released yesterday. It’s now more important than ever that we keep the pressure on the NIH to permanently retire these chimpanzees from biomedical research and send them to Chimp Haven or another true sanctuary.

Chimpanzee biomedical research coming to an end?

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An independent committee of experts through the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released their report today regarding whether chimpanzees are necessary for biomedical and behavioral research. While they did not call for the immediate end to all research involving chimpanzees, they developed some very strict criteria for evaluating current and future scientific projects.

The committee was not tasked with the question of whether it was ethical to use chimpanzees in research, however they stated, “the committee feels strongly that any assessment of the necessity of using chimpanzees as an animal model raises ethical issues, and an analysis of necessity must take these ethical issues into account.”

The committee looked at all areas of current chimpanzee research receiving federal funds and concluded that, “most (emphasis added) current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary, based on the criteria established by the committee…”

As Dr. Pippin, a cardiologist and former animal researcher who was representing the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said, the release of this study is a “watershed moment” for chimpanzees. Now it is up to the NIH to decide how to respond to this report from the committee they commissioned. Their response is expected shortly.

Read a good summary of the report here from NPR news. A more detailed article from the New York Times. And the full report here from the National Academies Press.

*Update – the NIH Director’s response is here. The Director of NIH says, “I have considered the report carefully and have decided to accept the IOM committee recommendations.”