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biomedical

A moment to celebrate

September 4, 2015 by J.B.

In ten days, all invasive research on chimpanzees in the United States will cease. Let that sink in for a minute.

Burrito hugging Foxie

In response to a petition by a coalition of animal welfare groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is elevating the status of all chimpanzees to endangered, thereby granting them a greater level of protection. Beginning on September 14th, any activity that causes harm to chimpanzees will require a permit, and permits will only be issued for research that benefits wild chimpanzees or conservation efforts. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the effective deadline for obtaining a permit was today, due to public notice requirements. And as of today, no permits have been issued.

It’s hard to overstate how important this is. For nearly a hundred years, chimpanzees have suffered and died in our pursuit of scientific and medical advancements. Later this month, all invasive research on chimpanzees will, at least for a moment, come to an end. Whether any permits will be requested in the future is uncertain, but this much is clear: the era of widespread chimpanzee research in the United States is over. And that’s worth celebrating.

web_missy annie open mouth kiss

Now we need to get these chimpanzees into sanctuaries. We told you at the beginning of this year about our plans for the future of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and we’re excited to report that, thanks to your generosity, we are ahead of schedule. We’re looking forward to sharing our vision for expanding the sanctuary as it develops and working with you to see it to fruition.

At CSNW, these seven chimpanzees have found a home where they are loved and respected and supported by people around the world. But inside every laboratory, there is a Missy longing to run free, an Annie aching for companionship, a Jody yearning for comfort, a Foxie wishing for someone to play with, a Burrito dreaming of a good meal, a Jamie desperate for a sense of control, and a Negra who wants nothing more than to bask in the sun. They all deserve a life in sanctuary. We, as a community, will make that happen.

Filed Under: Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research, News, Sanctuary Tagged With: biomedical, end of chimpanzee research, endangered species act, fish and wildlife, FWS, nih, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary

Laboratory Life

October 4, 2012 by Diana

At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we made a conscious decision to focus on sharing the personalities of the chimpanzees with everyone we could – to show who they are and the steps they are taking to recover from their past lives as biomedical research subjects.

There are more happy, goofy, playful, funny moments in a day at the sanctuary than we could possibly share with everyone. We treasure each of these moments and are so thankful to everyone who has helped us to create a place where the Cle Elum Seven can find joy.

But we know that there are nearly 1,000 other chimpanzees still in biomedical research within the United States who deserve the same opportunity – the chance to live out their lives in a legitimate sanctuary where they can begin to experience happiness. Seeing lists of numbers or names from labs that represent chimpanzees is a haunting experience. Each number is a chimpanzee full of personality just like Burrito, Negra, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Annie, and some of those chimpanzees are relatives of the seven – sons, daughters and cousins.

Last week we sent out an e-newsletter about 110 chimpanzees that the government claimed were being retired, though 100 of them are slated to move to another laboratory, not a sanctuary.

For more on this issue, I urge you to take a few moments and read this article published yesterday by Craig Maslow of the Houston Press. After reading it, you will want to want to take some sort of tangible action. A couple of ideas for action are provided here by Animal Protection of New Mexico.

It also happens to be National Primate Liberation Week next week. If you live in the Seattle area, you can participate in events that are being organized by Seattle’s Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN), Action for Animals, and the Seattle Animal Defense League. Check the NARN calendar for details on all local events. There are no chimpanzees being used in biomedical testing in the state of Washington, but there are countless monkeys used by the University of Washington and by private laboratories. For a list of primate liberation week events happening across the country, check the Stop Animal Experimentation Now! website.

There are definite signs that the end of chimpanzee biomedical research in the United States is coming to an end, particularly with the progress on the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act,  but we must keep the pressure up and make sure that the last of the chimpanzees in laboratories are sent to legitimate sanctuaries, and we must advocate for the tens of thousands of non-chimpanzee primates who will never know life outside of a laboratory cage.

Negra before in buckshire cage
Negra at the Buckshire Corporation before coming to sanctuary.
Negra on Young’s Hill at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

 

Filed Under: Advocacy, Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research, Sanctuary Tagged With: biomedical, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, experimentation, great ape protection, northwest, research, Sanctuary, shelter, texas biomedical

King 5 link to broadcast

May 3, 2012 by Diana

Here’s the link to the King 5 story that just aired about Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest: http://ow.ly/aGS3M

Thanks Gary and Ken for making the trek out to Cle Elum and for sharing the GoPro footage! And thanks to GoPro camera donors who helped us purchase the camera earlier this year and the special group of volunteers who helped install the camera mounts on Young’s hill (more on that later).

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Thanks, Wishlist Tagged With: biomedical, chimp, chimpanzee, gary chittim, gopro, KING 5, northwest, primate, rescue, research, Sanctuary, scientific

What we’ve learned – 3rd anniversary post

June 13, 2011 by Diana

Happy 3rd anniversary to the Cle Elum Seven and happy birthday to Negra!

Before we post about the party that’s happening this evening for the chimps (we know you’re looking forward to party photos!), we wanted to share with you, from our perspective as staff members, what we’ve learned from the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest these past years. We wrote these independently, but you might pick up on some common themes.

 

If you want to know a little more about who we are – take a look at the recently updated staff page.

 

From Sarah (Executive Director):

The Cle Elum Seven have taught me what’s important and what’s not. Play is important. Rest is important. A cozy bed, friends and family, respect. Good food. Alone time is important. What’s not important? That traffic jam, those weeds in the garden, that two-hour long meeting, that rude guy who cut in line at the grocery store. In the world of the Cle Elum Seven, none of that matters!

Negra has taught me that it’s never too late. Taken from the wild (and probably her mother), slapped in a cage for 30 years, held in solitary confinement, poked, prodded, darted. In her shoes, I’d be angry and lost. But not Negra! She’s always beautiful, quietly confident, knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to tell us when we’re doing it wrong, and takes pleasure in little things like sunshine and peanuts. And seeing her play – there are no words for how special that sight is! It’s never too late to play.

 

From J.B. (Director of Operations):

Negra doesn’t ask for much. All she seems to need in life is a pile of fresh blankets, a warm spot in the sun, and a steady supply of night bags.

Night bags, of course, are a nightly ritual here at CSNW. After dinner, the chimps each receive a paper lunch sack filled with a small handful of nuts, seeds, dried fruit and other healthy snacks. It’s something that Diana and I picked up while working at the Fauna Foundation, and it has been part of our routine here from the beginning. After three years in sanctuary, Negra has eaten approximately 1,095 night bags. You’d think she’d be sick of them by now. But you’d be wrong.

Think of the happiest moment of your life – that brief period of joyful anticipation when you realized that the thing you had always wanted was about to come true. That happens to Negra every night.

Negra eats dinner the way that a kid finishes her brussels sprouts so that she can have dessert. Dinner is but a means to an end for her. After she scarfs down what she considers to be enough to satisfy her caregivers, she begins clapping for the wait staff to fetch her the good stuff. When we return with the night bags, Negra breaks into an ear-to-ear grin – not a smile, but a full fledged chimpanzee grin, an expression that is reserved for intense fear or excitement. The grin is accompanied by a vocalization that is a cross between a food squeak and a scream, but it’s all straining and no voice, like the sound can’t find a way out.

Then comes my favorite five seconds of the day. At the moment when you pick up Negra’s night bag to give it to her, a calmness sets over her. Her ears go back a little and her face relaxes. Her gaze fixes upon the bag and nothing else seems to exist in her world. After waiting an agonizing 23 hours and 55 minutes, she finally has a night bag again, and for a moment everything is right with the world.

I don’t know how she does it. How do you maintain that level of excitement over something so mundane? Maybe, after a lifetime in the laboratory, you learn to appreciate the small stuff. Or maybe she just has a rare hereditary peanut addiction. In any case, Negra reminds me to never take anything for granted.

 

From Jackie (Development Coordinator):

I’ve learned so much from the Cle Elum 7, it’s hard to even know where to begin.  I’ve learned to laugh, to play, to love, to enjoy my home, to enjoy time with my friends, to relax, and to appreciate all that I have, rather than to dwell on what I don’t have.  The chimps’ forgiveness of us humans astounds me and inspires me to let go of the past and to move forward in my day to day life.  Negra, above others, has shown how one can move forward from past experiences.  The nightmare she lived for so long before coming to her sanctuary home saddens me to no end.  I remember when I first came to CSNW, she didn’t trust me (or anyone, for that matter).  She still had many signs of PTSD, including threat barking and poking at us when we moved towards her to offer our wrists (even when she initiated it by sticking her lips out of the cage, asking for a kiss).  It took her a while, but I haven’t seen her do that in a long time, which to me, says so much about what sanctuary means for her.  She has learned to trust us and is more comfortable in her home… and that is what sanctuary is about.  And to me, after all she has been through, there truly isn’t anything more special than a kiss from the Queen.

 

From Elizabeth (Volunteer Coordinator):

From Jamie, I’ve learned to speak up when I disagree with something.

From Missy, I’ve learned that a sense of humor can get you through just about anything.

From Burrito, I’ve learned to forge ahead, even if you’re out of your element.

From Annie, I’ve learned to always expect surprises.

From Foxie, I’ve learned that it’s never too late for a second childhood.

From Jody, I’ve learned to be serious about comfort.

From Negra, I’ve learned the importance of being unapologetically oneself.

 

From Diana (me, Director of Outreach):

The Cle Elum Seven have taught me unconditional love. I love each of them so much for who they are and who they are becoming.

My love for Negra was immediate – I’ve had a big soft spot for her ever since I met her at Buckshire. She and I get along well, but she’s not someone who interacts with humans that much, and I’m probably not on the top of her list of favorite people. And this is totally okay. I really appreciate this about the chimps’ sanctuary lives – they can do what they want, like who they choose and just be themselves. Pretty much everything Negra does endears me to her more. I really admire her for knowing what she wants. I have learned the importance of routine from Negra. My favorite Negra routine is when we show her the little bowl of nuts on the breakfast tray. It’s there every morning, but every morning we have to show it to her in order to get her moving for breakfast. Most often, once she sees the nuts, she throws off the blanket she has around her shoulders, lets out an excited food squeak, and comes downstairs. It’s a ritual that makes me so happy.

This past year, I’ve learned the most from Annie. Though chimpanzee hierarchy can be a bit fluid and definitely more complicated than a strict linear hierarchy, it was clear that Annie was at the bottom in terms of ranking within the group. I’ve known other chimpanzees in the least dominant position before. Low ranking chimpanzees that I have known often choose to spend time by themselves and seem to be anxious a lot of the time, particularly when interacting with others. From my perspective, they often overreact in social situations which can cause a cycle that seems to reinforce their low ranking status. I think the same scenario plays out in human social groups (both kids and adults). To be honest, I thought Annie would be in this least dominant position in the group possibly forever. I’ve never witnessed the lowest ranking individual successfully and calmly begin to assert themselves. I do not pretend to know all of the nuances of chimpanzee behavior or all of the subtle dynamics of the Cle Elum Seven. No doubt there’s a lot going on that I’m not aware of, so I don’t know what caused Annie to change. But I do know she has changed dramatically. She doesn’t overreact as much anymore and she asserts herself when she wants something and even during conflicts. We’ve been joking about how one day she might be the leader of the group, but perhaps it’s not a joke at all. From Annie, I’ve learned that anything is possible and everyone can change.

 

From all of us:

It’s not just the chimpanzees who have taught us these past three years. We’ve learned a tremendous amount from you, the supporters of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We’ve learned that your generosity is boundless, your energy is contagious, your ideas are brilliant and your dedication is unmatched. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve learned to update the blog regularly because you are as hooked on the Cle Elum Seven as we are.

 

Negra

Negra in the sun photo

Filed Under: Caregivers, Negra, Sanctuary Tagged With: anniversary, biomedical, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, Negra, northwest, refuge, Sanctuary, shelter

YOUR favorite blog posts

January 7, 2011 by Diana

The staff has shared some of their favorite blog posts of the last 2.5 years.

Now here is the compiled list of readers’ favorites:

Let it snow 12/13/2008 – the chimps’ first snow storm. The video was shared on King5 TV in Seattle and brought in some terrific supporters who remain today

Success 8/26/2008 – our announcement that the chimps were outside for the first time

A new doll for Foxie 10/27/2010 – quoting Elizabeth (even though she specifically says not to in the post), this video shows Foxie’s “ritualistic adoration behavior” with her troll dolls

Cowgirl Jamie 9/20/2010 – when Jamie managed to get her opposable toe into an extra-wide boot

Jamie keeps us guessing and Foxie keeps growing 9/22/2008 – video of Jamie going through a purse and using each thing she finds, including a nail file

The thinker… 12/26/2010 – a recent photo of Jamie in the hand chair, examining her hand

Jamie’s boots 11/4/2010 – Jamie enjoying some new boots and looking through a boot catalog

Easter Party 4/12/2009 and And the party continues 4/13/2009 – video and a photo of Burrito and his coconut

Foxie and the giant troll 10/4/2009 – Foxie being a mom to a big troll doll

Tutu retrospective 10/9/2009 – Jamie during her tutu phase (don’t forget to read Chimpanzees wearing clothes about our decision to share photos of the chimps when they choose to wear clothing).

Mail call 10/7/2009 – Jamie opening up the returned auction invites

Playful bunch of chimps 5/14/2010 – a staff favorite too – Negra really wins people over

Old ladies playing 7/3/2008 – another staff favorite  with Negra being playful

Young’s Hill and Out of the Box 8/19/2010 – video announcing Young’s Hill, our 2-acre expansion project

Way, way Out of the Box 10/3/2010 – letting everyone know about the success of the Out of the Box auction!

Foxie and her adorable toes 2/13/2010 – Foxie expressing herself with her toes

Nest grunts 10/11/2010 – video/audio of the chimpanzees saying goodnight

Conflict 7/27/2009 – photos and description of the chimpanzees having a disagreement, it explains chimpanzee social dynamics and fear facial expressions a bit

And the list below is from one person – Julie Harding, who went back just one year and selected these favorites (those that were duplicated above weren’t included in the list):

Laughter 10/20/2009 – Foxie and Jamie wrestling and laughing

Smiling 10/29/2009 – an explanation of the difference between human and chimp smiles

Negra’s son Noah 1/14/2010 – a photo of Noah who lives at Save the chimps & who Jennifer and James Douglas sponsored his migration from New Mexico to Florida

Mother’s Day party 5/9/2010 – photos of the party, the volunteers (including Julie and her daughter Sarah) and the great party food

Chimpanzees still in labs 5/13/2010 – information about the Great Ape Protection Act

Foxie’s new baby 5/20/2010 – Foxie and a baby doll (not a troll doll!) – a gift from Tamela

We’ve Come a Long Way Baby! 5/27/10 – the garden and landscaping, thanks to Dakotta of Sustainable Landscaping, Cloudview Ecofarms, and Jackie, J.B. & Denice

Burrtio and Sarah Play 6/4/2010 – a happy Mr. B playing with Sarah

Jamie Then and Now 6/8/2010 – photos contrasting Jamie’s appearance the day she arrived at the sanctuary with two years later

Negra Moments 6/13/2010 – caregivers’ favorite Negra moments or favorite aspects of her personality

Bounty of Trolls 7/6/10 – photos of Foxie with a ridiculous number of troll dolls

Senator Cantwell introduces GAPA companion bill 8/3/2010 – good news and links for more info about the bill

How to Nest by Jody and Missy 8/17/2010 – a photo montage of Jody and Missy nesting (this was one of my favorite posts to write)

Grooming 8/31/2010 – photos of Annie and Missy grooming and explanation of chimpanzee grooming

Today in Memory of Marilyn Goodrich 9/12/2010 – photo of hands and feet

It’s harvest time! 9/21/2010 – the garden’s goodness

HALLOWEEN 10/31/2010

Negra’s daughter Heidi 11/19/10 – a photo of Heidi, Negra’s daughter, who is at the Alamogordo Primate Facility

Thanks for sharing, everyone!

Filed Under: Burrito, Chimpanzee Behavior, Enrichment, Food, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Negra, Nesting, Party, Play, Sanctuary, Thanks, Trolls Tagged With: biomedical, blog, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, northwest, release, research, Sanctuary

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