Nothing has come out of testing Chimpanzees for diseases-It needs to stop!!!!

The activists say the researchers are using the animals to study the effects of bioterrorism agents on chimpanzees.

One of the chimpanzees is 29-years-old, has lived as a test subject, and in a captive environment with thousands of other chimpanzees, and has been chemically immobilised 99 times by researchers since being brought out of a 14-year retirement, activists said.
Subjecting chimpanzees to deadly chemicals and diseases is illegal in the European Union, and the US is the only industrialised country that still allows researchers to do so.

The US National Institutes of Health recently stopped dealing with the Texas-based research laboratory that procured the 14 elderly chimpanzees.

The animals are being used to study the effects of deadly substances like anthrax, and deadly viruses, such as HIV and Ebola, according to campaigners.

John Pippin, a Dallas-based doctor and member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), said that testing on chimpanzees was not scientifically useful to humans.

He said that, as yet, no Hepatitis C vaccine, AIDS vaccine, or malaria vaccine had come about from chimpanzee testing, despite the fact that these three diseases required the use of chimpanzees for testing.

He said that researchers had been given free licence to study disease in chimpanzees for decades, without such research yielding anything of use to the general public.

Pippin said that he believed that the transfer of the chimpanzees to the laboratory constituted an abuse of the federal Administrative Procedure Act.

About 1,000 chimpanzees remain in captivity in US laboratories.

Breeding or importing chimpanzees into the US is against the law.

In a related study, British and African researchers found that 59 chimpanzees studied in a Zambian sanctuary displayed the use of humour and laughter during social bonding.

The researchers said their findings suggested that chimpanzees used forms of communication and self-expression that were more complicated than people might think.
Story Credit Here

Where is Ham the Chimpanzee used by NASA now?

This was just a horrible thing to do. Gosh they couldn't get any human volunteers for this?

Ham the Chimp, astronaut (July 1956 – January 19, 1983)
The first primate launched in space, Ham was also the first African astronaut, having been born in Cameroon. The only African human to have been in space was South African “space tourist” Mark Shuttleworth, in 2002.

Ham was only given his name upon successful completion of his 17-minute journey into space, as NASA didn’t want any potential dead animals in space to have a cutesy name. Although officially known as “Chimp 65” during his mission, he was informally known by his handlers as “Chop Chop Chang”.

Upon his death, Ham’s flesh tissue was removed from his body by being placed in a tank of dermestid beetles. His skeleton is currently on show at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, alongside a display of the skeletons of American Civil War soldiers.
Dom Passantino
Story Credit here

Experiments on Monkeys Will Continue At UW

On orders from Chancellor Biddy Martin, a UW-Madison committee on Friday took up a contentious issue on campus: Is it ethical to conduct experiments on monkeys?

Not surprisingly, the discussion that resulted hardly settled the question. Animal rights activists still contend that scientists shouldn't conduct experiments on monkeys that they deem too risky for humans.

Scientists still believe the research is ethical, given stringent internal and federal oversight. The committee, UW-Madison's All-Campus Animal Care and Use Committee, approved a statement to that effect Friday.

"All they did was defend the status quo," said Rick Marolt, a business consultant and lecturer in the university's School of Business who believes experiments on monkeys should end.

Marolt asked the committee to take up the ethics question in August. The committee deferred, arguing it wasn't the right body to handle the question, but the chancellor then stepped in to ask the committee to formally take up the issue.

However, Martin said she didn't think the university should follow Marolt's suggestion to create a separate campus body to consider the ethics of animal research.

In a November letter to Marolt, Martin said the debate "is not likely to plough new ground," arguing it should be pursued, if anywhere, on a national level.

"The general consensus within the scientific community is that research with non-human primates, when properly conducted, is consistent with scientific and ethical norms," she wrote. "The research aims at the university are clear - understanding the causes and developing treatments for the most devastating of human medical conditions."

At the meeting Friday, committee members said they review experiments on a case-by-case basis. Researchers must justify the use of animals and show they have minimized the potential for harm.

The discussion was particularly timely because of two recent federal inspections of UW-Madison's animal research facilities, one of which found 20 violations among the school's roughly 1,100 animal experiments and 52 facilities.

Source and photograph

Monkey Starves To Death at University of Washington National Primate Research Center

So, how long would it take for a monkey to starve to death do you think? Probably about the same amount of time as a human starving. How in the world could the people that are suppose to be "trained and experienced" forget to feed a monkey for so many days? Just think about how awful it was for that poor monkey to suffer day in and day out because he or she wasn't important enough to remember to feed! That's just AWFUL!!!! Isn't it horrible enough that these monkeys have to endure medical experiments, let alone not being fed. Three workers and one supervisor were disciplined, said center Director David Anders. What a smack on the hand? A talking to? What?

A quote- "But Anderson pointed out the university spent $38 million over the past few years to upgrade animal-care facilities." BUT what was this money spent on? More experimental equipment?, raises for the employees? or perhaps just regular maintenance that needed to be done. Obliviously, it wasn't spent on quality care!

Nona Phillips, director of UW's Office of Animal Welfare stated "This is very, very unusual", well something as simple as a routine chore such as feeding a monkey should have been just that... Routine. If they can't even remember to feed a monkey for days on end then I also have to wonder what else they are doing or NOT doing!

Story-
By Sandi Doughton

Seattle Times science reporter

Staff at the University of Washington's National Primate Research Center allowed a monkey to starve to death last year.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection report says the male pigtailed macaque had lost a quarter of his body weight, and had not been weighed regularly as required by the university's own protocols.

Three workers and one supervisor were disciplined, said center Director David Anderson.

Nona Phillips, director of UW's Office of Animal Welfare, said the incident was "extremely upsetting."

"That's a bad thing to have happen," she said. "This is very, very unusual."

The death is the latest blow for animal research programs at the UW, which is one of the nation's top institutions in terms of biomedical funding from the National Institutes of Health.

In 1995, five baboons died of exposure or thirst at a UW primate-breeding center near Spokane. The center was later closed. Inspectors from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care found "serious deficiencies" in the university's animal-care facilities in 2006 and placed the university on probation. In 2008, UW was ordered to reimburse the federal government more than $20,000 for unauthorized surgeries performed on primates being used to study the relationship between the brain and eye movement.

The animal-rights organization Stop Animal Exploitation Now, which monitors all U.S. research centers, has targeted the UW for special scrutiny, said Executive Director Michael Budkie. "If they can't even keep the primates fed, you have to wonder what else is happening," Budkie said.

But Anderson pointed out the university spent $38 million over the past few years to upgrade animal-care facilities.

UW is now fully accredited, Phillips said. And the previous two USDA inspections of the primate center uncovered no problems.

Anderson said the center retrained its staff and changed procedures after the macaque died in April.

The 3 1/2-year-old monkey had recently been introduced into a new group of about 15 other macaques, Anderson said. The highly social creatures sometimes turn on newcomers, and staffers had been observing the animal several times a day to make sure that didn't happen. But even though dominant animals weren't beating up on the new arrival, they were apparently preventing him from sharing in food, Anderson said.

Animals mask infirmity to prevent being preyed on in the wild, so the macaque's weakened state was not obvious to observers, he added. UW's rules require all animals to be weighed every four weeks, which would have spotted the weight loss. The USDA report said the macaque hadn't been weighed for more than two months before his death. Anderson said it actually had been six weeks since the animal was weighed, but the lapse was nonetheless inexcusable.

The problem was traced to a change in staffing and confusion over responsibilities. Among the fixes instituted is a computer program that alerts supervisors as well as staff when an animal is overdue for attention, Anderson said.

The macaque was not being used for experimentation.

But the same USDA inspection noted a problem with two adult male baboons, being used for neurological studies. Cages were designed so that when the animals were on the perches where they usually sleep, they were unable to "sit upright in a normal manner" because of 2-inch-tall implants in their heads.

Anderson said the problem was corrected by lowering the perches.

The UW primate center's Web site says it is the largest of eight federal centers across the country. Facilities in Seattle house about 700 animals, mostly macaques and baboons. The university also operates primate-breeding colonies in Louisiana and Texas, with about 3,000 animals.

The primates are used in a wide range of research.

Source

Fauna Foundation Talks About Tom From Their Hearts, SO SAD

Monday, December 28, 2009
Tommy’s last day at Fauna

Tommy’s last day at Fauna
May 1,1965- December 15, 2009

I want to thank everyone who has written to us with condolences and those special friends who have done tributes to Tommy in so many different ways. Tom was our oldest and best known resident. He was also the face of Project R & R’s campaign to end research on chimpanzees. He will remain the Ambassador for Project R&R.


Within a day, many of you heard of his passing. Some of you learned of Tommy’s death from Fauna while many others read the first words of his passing in a Project R & R e-Alert. Dr. Capaldo, Project R&R’s President, knew Tommy and gave him the honor of his position in our joint campaign on behalf of all chimpanzees still in labs. She knew his personality, his health issues, his day to day life. She has written some of the most beautiful and powerful words describing him. If you haven’t already, you can read about Tommy’s role in Project R&R by visiting

http://www.releasechimps.org/2009/12/15/saying-goodbye-to-tom/
and
http://www.releasechimps.org/chimpanzees/their-stories/tom/

We have special friends at NEAVS and their commitment to Tom and everyone like him in labs is undeniable. Like us, they feel even more determined to end this unimaginable torture and needless suffering.
I am so grateful Tom was given a voice. His call, evoked in the images of him on Project R&R’s outreach materials, cries out loudly – and as one reader of the New Yorker in which he appeared in a Project R&R ad said, “How could anyone turn away from him?” At Fauna, Tom will always be heard. And now, everyone else will hear his calls as well.

Two very dear and special friends to Tommy were John Mulcahy and Diana Goodrich. They did a beautiful tribute to Tom on their website at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/blog/?p=3131


John and Diana worked at Fauna in the early years and were two of the lucky ones to be chosen by Tom as close friends. When I read their words, I so easily recalled those special days and their special relationship with Tommy.

Then, came a special email from Allison Argo whose award winning documentary Chimpanzees an Unnatural History left us all sobbing with great joy and pain. None of us who were there or saw it on film will ever forget the day that Tommy climbed a wonderful, tall tree. Nor will we ever forget how powerful Allison’s final words were in her amazing documentary that helped millions change the way they look at the life of a research chimpanzee. I go over those words again and again and remember that truly special day with deep gratitude that he had that moment and overwhelming sadness that he is now gone.

It is so difficult to speak about a day that changes your life forever. When someone is in front of you asking what happened, it feels easy to tell. But to write about it and remember the days and weeks before has felt so hard to do. And so, it is only now that I can write about Tom. It was becoming harder the longer I have waited. I know I can’t wait any longer in part because of the cards, phone calls and e-mails sent to us from all of you. I have read some of the most beautiful messages and I can feel how much you share our pain. So now I am ready to write about dear Tom. I am ready to remember every detail and share them so that you can feel as though you had been here with us.

If you are reading this you probably have been a big part of the Fauna family of chimpanzees. We have spoken about Tom many times. He is well known, respected and loved. Not only was he loved by his Fauna family, but by so many people from all over the world. Tom was passionate and compassionate -- there to support his loved ones in times of need. He could get angry and let them know it, but came to learn how to resolve problems, like any true leader. He will always be one of the most important members of Fauna. He was an Alpha -- a wise and great Alpha.

As you may know, Tom made a lot of choices about who he wanted to live with and where he wanted to be. He always knew what he wanted and we tried to give him it as often as possible. In the early years, we often had little success. But over the years, with his healing and growth, Tom was able to do so much more than he could in the beginning. His social skills increased and his life improved dramatically because of that.

Tom’s history of years alone in a lab cage left him with no opportunity to learn anything about how to live in a group. But even with that horrid history, he certainly knew who he loved and his bonds with humans were strong. As everyone who knows him knows his dearest love was Pat Ring, a human.



A few months ago I started to write a story about Tom, it was titled, “Doctor in the House.” It was a story about Tom’s nurturing and care-giving skills. I was hoping to describe to you what a special fellow he was and how he had just helped us get through a very difficult time with Regis. Regis had an infected bite wound on his head after a scrap and he would not let us help him. If it had not been for Tom’s intervention, we would have had a much more serious problem. It was not the first or the last time Tom would help us out in such a situation. His need to help take care of the others was quite important to him and to us.



He learned his nursing skills from Pat. In 1997, months before Tom was to move into Fauna, he had had a very serious foot injury. Once at Fauna, he continued to have recurring problems with his foot. Many of you know how much of a challenge Tom’s problems were for him and for us as we tried to give Tom the life he so desperately wanted. He wanted to run, to play and to live some kind of normal life with others of his choice.

Yet, often Tom had to be isolated while we tried to take care of his foot. It was hard for him to be separated again and again, but he let us do it and was very co-operative because of his love for and trust in Pat. He gave us his full support because he understood that it was for his well being. Not ours.

Tom spent many weeks and months in a smaller area usually with Pablo and Jeannie, or Yoko. What he learned during this time was valuable to him for his future in a group and for his newly self-appointed responsibility as a caregiver to the others. Especially the wounded. At first glace one might think it was Pat taking care of Tom’s injured foot, but if you observed long enough you would see that it was Tom doing all the cleaning. Pat did the drying. Tommy applied the ointment. What started out as Tom assisting Pat, ended with Pat assisting Tom. He learned exactly what to do and he did it to the others when they were injured.

This may seem amusing to some, but in truth this is why Tom was where he was the day he died.

Binky had had a fight on November 18th that left a deep gash on the bottom of his foot. What we did not initially see however, under all the thick black hair, was the rest of his injuries. Bite wounds on the top of his foot and on his calf.

He was given anti-biotics immediately after the fight, as we always do to not take chances. It is not uncommon to see injuries. We sometimes have to wait until the chimps are ready to show us or we watch to see where they are looking, or where others are paying more attention. Binky was interested in letting us see the bottom of his foot but not anything else. As many of you know, Binky is one of the most athletic guys at Fauna He is in amazing condition, strong and muscular, but for some reason he was not doing well, not responding to the treatment.

After the usual 10 day treatment, we saw that Binky’s foot was getting more and more swollen. He began to have more difficulty walking. It was around this time that Tom began to observe Binky more. Binky was not responding to the antibiotics and his foot and leg were becoming terribly infected. He was uncomfortable and had a fever. Tom seemed aware that Binky was in trouble.

By December 3rd, Binky came into a room to be on his own, away from his group. Tommy was in the area right next to him, with Spock, one of the chimps from the Quebec zoo with whom Tom had become close friends. They were both very concerned about Binky. They sat near him, grooming him through the bars.

On Tuesday the 8th, Binky moved himself over to Jeannie’s room, which is the room next to the two new rooms that were made for medical procedures, right in front of the clinic. He came for help. He was getting weaker and could not put weight on his foot at all, leading us to believe he may have also broken some bones.

On Wednesday December 9th, early in the morning, we put Binky under anesthesia, cleaned his wound, drained fluid from his foot, gave him fluids, antibiotics, and ran several blood tests.

Tom and Spock sat together patiently all day in their room waiting and watching all the proceedings. It was time for Tom and Spock to go into the bigger common area and be with Jethro. This was a situation that would usually please Tom. He loved his times with Jethro and with his new friend Spock. Not this day though. When the door was opened for the fellows to leave and join Jetho, Spock left the room and Tommy stayed behind. He sat up high and close to the door that led to the room where Binky was. He wasn’t budging. With Tom, we never tried to convince him to go somewhere he didn’t want to go. He had crossed through this door thousands of times in his 12 years at Fauna. They were the rooms he spent his first months and years in. But that day, he wouldn’t move.



When Kim asked me what to do, because Tommy was just sitting at the door that led to where Binky was, I said. “Let him go where he wants to go.” He wanted to go to Binky and he did. We opened the door and Tommy stayed in the room next to Binky most of the day, waiting and watching.

He could not go in right away with him, because Binky was still very sleepy. So Tommy positioned himself comfortably in the doorway with his head as close as possible to Binky. He was waiting for him to throw the covers off and sit up. Tommy was patient and looked ready to spend the rest of the day right there -- not leaving until he knew everything was okay.
We all talked to Tom, reassuring him that Binky was going to be okay. We served him his dinner in that room –Jeannie’s room. He ate and stayed there until midnight.

Binky slept for a long time. The bandage on his foot and leg seemed to immobilize him. Normally as soon as they see the bandage, they rip it off. It is always your hope that they leave it on for a little while to get the soothing effect of the medication and the cleanliness. Once it is off, you face more challenges.

But Binky seemed in shock. As if his foot and leg did not belong to him, he would not touch them. Just ever so lightly at first, then not at all. He made a call to Tom and the others, and then curled up and went back to sleep. It seemed to comfort Tommy to know Binky was awake and communicating with the rest of his family all through the chimp house. Some of the folks could not see him and could only hear him – as it must often be for family living in the deep forests of Africa.

Tom just lay there watching and waiting for Binky to get up.We were all touched by Tom’s concern and throughout the day told him what a sweet guy he was for being there for Binky.

The next day was different, though. Tom was anxious and really wanted – needed-- to go in the room with Binky. I had fully intended to let him. The hold up was that Rachel was in with Tom and she is simply not as gentle with wounds as Tommy is. Yet, Rachel was anxious too, banging on the door to get in with Binky. Tommy, upset by her behavior, displayed and banged on the wall.

It was amazing to see how controlled he was. It took me back to the days he would watch Jeannie lose control, and just sit quietly by and not engage. He understood, somehow, that Jeannie was not in control of her rage, as he understood that day with Rachel.

I thanked him for not hurting Rachel. I looked at him sitting up on the bed, just looking the other way.

On this second day, Thursday December 10th, we had to be sure to get Binky’s bandage off. It could not be left on that long, Because he was not trying to get it off, we had some concern.

But, I wasn’t too worried because I knew I could just let Tommy go into Binky’s room and he would take it off. The problem was we had to make sure he went in alone, and not with Rachel.

We managed to find a new room for Rachel, away from Tommy. Yet, as soon as she saw me open the door for Tom, she started screaming and hitting herself and had one of her disturbingly severe anxiety attacks. So I stopped. I told Tommy I was sorry, and that I would be back later to let him in to visit with Binky, or to be closer to him in the next room.

I had called Pat the night before to tell him about Binky’s surgery. I told him in the message what had happened, and how we had to do something for the Binkster. I said if you are in the area, you need to stop by and visit because the Bub sure could use a friend right now while he was recovering.

Pat was surprised Binky was in such a condition and said he would stop by for sure. He said he was going to stop by that day to give Tommy “some love” anyway, since each time he had stopped by lately it was to give Tom his B12 injections. He wanted to just visit and play on a day that was not injection time.

This was all pretty perfect. Tommy and the Binkster would both be taken care of by Pat. All was well.

Except that in the midst of all of that, I had a call from the office telling me that Mr. Puppy was having a crisis. I could hear him yelping in the background. It was awful to hear him like that. Mr. Puppy is 16 years old, and he is close to the end of his time here on earth, a sad reality we face daily. My staff was heading out to take him to Richard’s clinic.

I had a call from Richard, after Mr. Puppy was dropped off. He said you must come to see him. He is really bad. So I left the chimphouse, with Tom waiting to go in with Binky and went to the clinic to see Mr. Puppy. During that time, Pat was on his way to see Tommy and Binky. I called to say I would be late. Pat said no problem, he was just going to be hanging out with Tommy.

I had asked him if he could stay late and help me get Binky’s bandage off, after everyone left. He said he would. I had to make a stop after the clinic to go to Costco to pick up vitamins, Glucosimine, and a few other things for the chimps. I had just looked at my list and was lifting the cover to my phone to call the chimphouse to ask a question.

When I put the phone to my ear, I could hear all this commotion. It was Kim from the chimphouse telling someone to get off the line. I could hear someone frantic in the background saying they needed a pump. Then there was the sound of Pat yelling and Kim. I tried to ask “Kim, what is going on?” but she was in two conversations. Strangely it was like all of us were on the same line at the same time, but we did not know it. Then Kim said, “Gloria ?”, I said “Yes, what is going on?” She was crying and saying, “It’s Tommy.”

I screamed, “What, what is wrong with Tommy?” She said, “Tommy, he’s choking. He can’t breath. Pat is in with him, and he is choking.”

I knew right away he would die.

I dropped everything and went back to the chimphouse as quickly as possible. While I drove, we all stayed on the phone -- Kim, Cindy, Richard, Isabelle (our vet tech) and Mario. All talking to each other, trying to get through the moment. Richard was giving Isabelle instructions. I was just listening and feeling like I was losing control. I hung up, told Richard to hurry up and get there. Then I called Dr. Capaldo –Theo – and sobbed nearly inaudibly, “He’s dying. Tommy is dying.” Then I tried to call my family.

Trying to get back to Fauna felt like an eternity. It was the longest 8 minutes of my life.

When I arrived, Pat was standing outside the building. I knew it was over. He would never have left Tommy if he was still alive. We just hugged and cried. The only thing I could say was that I was so grateful Pat was there. I could never have wished for a better way for Tommy to go than in Pat’s most loving arms.

I ran into the building to find everyone so distraught. I don’t even remember who was there. I just know that seeing Tommy laying on the floor was unbearable.

Pat came in with me, while I lay with Tommy. Then we all went in with him. My sisters came, first Linda, then Dawna. My brother in laws, Chris and then Tony. It was all so very very sad and so shockingly unexpected.

Kim was in the chimphouse when it all happened. She said Tommy was very happy to see Pat. They played. They groomed. They sat quietly together.

She told me Tom was sitting eating lettuce when suddenly he went limp, and seemed to be choking. His head dropped. Pat said “Open the door.” Kim did. Pat went in immediately and began to give Tom CPR. Isabelle was able to pass a tube down his throat and they gave him air. Pat was pumping his heart. Isabelle gave him another injection that kept him going for a few minutes longer. They kept Tommy breathing for minutes, but to no avail.

Tom left us that day and left an emptiness that is not possible to describe.
Pat told me he was looking right into Tommy’s eyes when he took his last breath and that is truly a great comfort. We should all be so blessed as to be in the arms of a great love when our time comes.

They had managed to keep him alive for a short while. But once we saw inside of Tommy we knew that he could never have survived, even if we had the finest trauma team in the world. He was ready to go and he had his best friend in the world holding him when he left.

To have the one who loves you most of all, there with you in the final moments must be the final comfort. The one who would do anything for you and loves and respects you and who’s heart will be broken forever because of losing you.

Pat is deeply deeply grieving. He knows that Tommy had a lot of health problems, but right now, he is missing his beloved Tommy.
As hard as the loss of Tom is for Pat and me and all of his human friends, the loss for the rest of Tommy’s chimp family is even more profound. They are still living it and feeling it. The emptiness and the quiet. Tom was a very big presence. Father figure, leader, teacher, disciplinarian, friend.

There is a silence in the chimphouse that is unimaginable. I cannot even imagine how difficult this is for all of them. They are hurting, scared and very angry.

Like poor Binky who once again witnessed the death of someone very close and very dear to him. Just 3 years ago, Binky was across from Jeannie when she died, in the same room Tommy died in. It was Binky’s calls I heard the night I walked back to the chimphouse when Jennie was so ill and I knew something had happened. I knew that Jeannie had died. I had kept a vigil with her, yet when she finally passed, it was Binky who was there with her.

Our dear little (he is one of our youngest) Binky, not only is he going through a painful and fearful physical trauma, but he is in the middle of a another great loss. Tommy died right beside him, in the room waiting to go in with Binky.

With Binky’s procedure following Tommy’s death, I was reminded of just how terribly stressful all this is for all the rest. Tommy’s dying, Binky lying on the stretcher after his surgery. I understand what they must be going through and how hard this is for them after years of witnessing this kind of thing – dying chimps, injured chimps, sick chimps… one can only imagine how terrifying this time must be for them.

Since December 9th, Binky has been under anesthesia 3 times. We are having to be aggressive about his treatment to save not only his foot and leg, but to save his life. He had the x-ray he needed. Nothing is broken. He is having a hard time fighting the infection. And he is looking so depressed, isolated from his friends and family, which makes everything much worse.

The chimps call each night to Binky. He answers in a long and very different voice. They are needing reassurance. Yet, it was Tommy who we heard each morning for the past 12 years, and it was Tommy who made the last call of the night. The reassurance they had all come to rely on is gone now. And it will take time and change to appoint someone to that central role in their family.

With Tommy gone, everything will change. And, we will all have to find the energy that was Tom, the strength that was Tom, and feel the peace inside that is Tom.

Some say his soul is soaring free now. In my heart I know Tommy will soar over us eternally. Wrapping his enormous arms around us all, like the wings of an angel. He will give us the strength to fight even harder for his brothers, sisters, and cousins. And, for our own souls.

I was in the chimphouse on Sunday. Normally Sundays, a time when I am alone with the chimps, are wonderful days. They are relaxed and happy. But this Sunday they were dead quiet and not at all interested in anything.

In the quiet, I found a card on the counter. Inside I read a note from Sari, a friend and long time volunteer, who for years has dedicated her Sunday mornings to the chimps. Many times I have walked in on her, and caught her and Tom having private games of chase. They kept their relationship a secret from most of us. I was sobbing while I read her words:

“I will miss Tom. There is no way around that. The life Tom lived at Fauna was a miracle and meant to be. It is amazing to have seen him accept us, and be welcoming of us. …I am … one of the priviledged to have come to know him, run with him, and blow in his ears. I am so sorry for this loss. I know Tom would be wiping the tears from my eyes.”

And someone else wrote that “ Somewhere in the sky tonight, a star is shining brighter because of him.”

When we think like that, then each time we look up we will see him, and know that all the other bright stars are those we have loved and we will be comforted.

Someone wrote “Tom is in Summerland, where all that is required is that he be himself. The air will always be sweet for him, the ground will be soft and covered with grass, and the sun will be kind. “

And, when someone wrote “our hearts weep and our souls grieve with you for the passing of this magnificent being called Tom,” I was touched deeply.

In closing, I know some of you have read the words sent to us from Allison Argo. For those of you who haven’t or for one last time for those of you who have, she wrote:

"Tom had the gift to inspire greatness… he drew out the best in all who knew him with his gentleness, dignity and tolerance…. It was a tremendous privilege to know him. I remember so clearly writing the script for the end of my film. I only had a few days left to finish when I hit a block and started to panic about the final words. I decided to take a walk, and as I walked I focused on Tom high in the tree. I tried to imagine what it must have felt like to finally be able to look out towards the horizon – to see the landscape stretch out before him, so far from where his life had begun decades earlier. The life of this extraordinary being had been stolen- and at last, he could see beyond the bars. It was only a glimpse, but it must have been profound….Within a few hundred feet, the words had written themselves. I ran home in tears and pounded them into the computer. In hindsight, I think it was probably Tom who wrote them:"


"We know so little about this old chimpanzee-given the name “Tom” by someone, someplace. All we know is that he spent 30 years in a steel cage. Tom has reached the end of his journey at last.
…We can’t undo the past-but we can reconsider the future and the cost to the chimpanzee. Thousand like Tom have sacrificed everything so that we might live a little longer or laugh a little louder…Far from the forests of equatorial Africa, this old chimp can finally survey the strange landscape that has become his home. At last his trials have come to an end- but his story will live on: a reminder of the thousands like him, who are still waiting for a second chance."
"Thank you Tom, for all you taught us. May your story continue to inspire goodness and change. " - Allison Argo -

These words will be read, spoken, for a very long time, because they say it all. They touch us and remind us and force us to be better human beings. Tom can rest now, but we can’t. We must work hard to make up for all the wrongs that have been done to them and all animals. If we do this, if we try to end the abuse and make things better, we too will one day rest.

Meanwhile, every night I light a candle for those I have loved and lost. Tonight, light a candle for them and for all those who are with us and still need us.

With much love,
Gloria

PS
Many of you know how many health problems Tom had over the years. He was plagued with chronic diarrhea from the day he moved in. He had been repeatedly infected with many strains of the HIV virus. He suffered from a gagging condition every morning. He had a mass in his abdomen that was never determined. He could only eat certain things and he continually tried to self medicate in his food choices from what we offered. After he died, we performed an autopsy. With what we saw inside, he must have felt terrible and it is a mircale he was with us as long as he was.

Once we have completed results, we will share our findings. But know this, it was unimaginable that someone could have gone through all that.
He was at the mercy of the research community for 30 years, so there is not much more to say than that.

Except that he was tired. He had been tired for months, perhaps years. Tom can rest now. And like everything in his life in sanctuary, Tom got to make a choice. And, I guess he just decided it was time to go.

We will miss you, Thomas.

Posted by Fauna team at 2:05 PM

Source and Photographs Of Tom
To Donate To This Wonderful Sanctuary

InVivo and OHSU Are Responsbile For Horrible Spinal Experiments And Suffering On Monkeys!!!!!

This entire article, from beginning to end is heart breaking, disgusting, inhumane and extremely sad for the Monkeys. It really makes me ill to my stomach.

Story-

A Boston medical device maker has settled its lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University over the quality of OHSU’s monkeys.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, alleged that OHSU had breached a research agreement with Cambridge, Mass.-based InVivo Therapeutics Corp.

InVivo had contracted with OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center to test treatments for severe spinal cord injuries using medical implants.

The research center is one of eight of its kind in the U.S. It breeds primates.

According to InVivo’s complaint, the device maker had agreed to pay $603,180 to OHSU to begin its study on a pool of 24 monkeys. After assessing the monkeys, it aimed to surgically severe the spinal cords of 16, paralyzing them, and then implant InVivo’s device.

But when InVivo staffers visited OHSU at the outset of the study, in January 2009, they found only 19 monkeys available — and that number soon began to dwindle.

In court documents, InVivo alleged that:

• One monkey broke its ankle and two had “training issues,” leaving just 16 available when the study began.

• A post-surgery staff infection debilitated another monkey.

• After successfully implanting devices in seven monkeys, OHSU refused to allow surgery on the remaining eight because of bladder problems — though InVivo said these problems were to be expected.

• Four more monkeys experienced complications and were euthanized by OHSU, leaving only three primates available for study.

With only three monkeys available to conduct its study, InVivo entered into a new, smaller, contract with OHSU in May, but that arrangement also ran into troubles, InVivo alleged.

OHSU then demanded a total payment of $1.2 million to complete the animal trial and refused to give back any of InVivo’s surgical equipment until payment was received, according to InVivo’s complaint.

OHSU did not respond in court to InVivo’s charges, and both sides quickly turned to an outside mediator to address the dispute.

On Dec. 18, they reached an out-of-court agreement.

InVivo and OHSU declined to discuss the litigation, but on Monday confirmed that the settlement had been reached. In a joint statement, they said:

“The parties jointly acknowledge that the research in question — involving a potentially ground-breaking medical device designed to help those who have suffered spinal cord injuries — was important and beneficial to the advancement of medicine.

“The parties also jointly acknowledge that the individuals who conducted the research and cared for the animals acted professionally, ethically and with the utmost concern for the humane treatment of the animals.

“InVivo will continue to support research in this area and hopes that one day a similar device may be used in humans to promote long-term recovery of neurological function.”

Source

PETA Wants Grant Money for Experiments To Be Given Back

I totally agree with Kathy Guillermo.

Story-

An animal rights group is demanding that the National Institutes of Health take back grant money from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

PETA said in a release Wednesday that it’s making the demand after revelations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited KU Med for deficiencies in its Lab Animal Research facilities.

KU Med said Monday that it had spent $700,000 on renovations to the facilities and recruited a Princeton University scientist for a newly created position as executive director of the lab, in response to the USDA inspection.

A KU Med spokeswoman could not comment immediately because she was unaware of the PETA demand.

PETA said in the release that KU Med had been cited for more than 160 violations of federal animal protection laws between August 2008 and June, and it wants the NIH to make KU Med return “thousands of dollars” in federal grant money that was used for the violating experiments. Guidelines for grants from the NIH don’t allow public funds to be used for animal experiments that breach federal regulations, the release said.

“According to USDA inspectors, animals at KUMC were regularly left to suffer from painful illnesses and invasive surgeries without adequate veterinary care, inadequately trained staff members were allowed to handle animals ... and experimenters repeatedly failed to consider modern alternatives to animal use as required by law,” the release said.

Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s director of laboratory investigations, said in the release that public money was being “squandered on crude and cruel experiments that have no relevance to human health.”

Source

Animal Rights Groups Outraged At Sending Monkeys To Mars, Help PETA

Russian space chiefs want to send a monkey to Mars.

Although it will be looked after by a robot on the mission, the decision is sure to outrage animal rights groups.

The Russians will first experiment with a groundbased capsule. The goal is to put men on Mars and is likely to signal a new space race.

Zurab Mikvabia, director of the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy in Georgia, admitted: "We have plans to return to space."

The Soviet Union last sent two monkeys into space in 1987 for medical tests.

Source

PETA HELP... New Experiments In Stages To Send Monkeys To Mars!!!! This Is Unbelievable!!!!!

Eghh.. I am too upset to even make a comment on this horrible horrible situation!!!!!

Story-

Now, if the scientists at the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy have their way, one of these furry apes could someday be plucked from its cage and sent on a pioneering mission to Mars.

"We have plans to return to space," declared Zurab Mikvabia, the director of this institute nestled in a lush forest on a hill overlooking the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of ex-Soviet Georgia.

Residents of the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi call this place the "monkey

nursery" and proudly recall how it produced groundbreaking medical research and raised two rhesus monkeys, Yerosha and Dryoma, sent into space in 1987.

But the institute fell on hard times after the collapse of the Soviet Union as Abkhazia fought a war to break free of Georgian control and fell into a long period of economic isolation.

Hundreds of apes died or disappeared during the 1992-93 war as Abkhaz separatists and Georgian troops fought over Sukhumi, an elegant seaside town famed as a resort in Soviet times.

"Many monkeys were shot. They were let out of their cages and just ran around the city," said Aldona, an institute employee who doubles as a tour guide for visitors.

Hunger and illness killed many more. There are now 350 apes, mostly baboons and macaques, confined in grim outdoor cages. The pre-war population was about 1,000 in Sukhumi plus thousands more at other branches of the institute.

At least a few dozen more monkeys are believed to be living in the wooded mountains of Abkhazia, descendants of a 1970s experiment where scientists released apes into the wild.

Testifying to the institute's glory days, a Soviet-era statue of a baboon stands in the central courtyard amid weeds and dry fountains.

In recent years, conditions for the apes have improved somewhat as Abkhazia enjoyed an investment boom, largely due to Russia, which recognised the region as an independent state in 2008 after a brief war with Georgia.

Only Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Pacific island nation of Nauru have joined Russia in recognising Abkhazia's independence, while the rest of the world considers it part of Georgia.

Mikvabia said the institute had improved the monkeys' diet and would soon start moving them from cages to large open-air enclosures where they would be able to run more freely.

"It's not normal to keep monkeys in small cages," said Mikvabia, a respected Abkhaz doctor who was appointed director of the institute in July.

As he smoked a pipe in his office, Mikvabia expressed his determination to bring serious science back to the institute after years when it essentially became a zoo for gawking tourists.

The institute is in preliminary talks with Russia's Cosmonautics Academy about preparing monkeys for a simulated Mars mission that could lay the groundwork for sending an ape to the Red Planet, Mikvabia said.

Such an initiative would build on Mars-500, a joint Russian-European project that saw six human volunteers confined in a capsule in Moscow for 120 days earlier this year to simulate a Mars mission.

"Earlier this programme was aimed at sending cosomonauts, people (to Mars)," Mikvabia said.

"But given the length of the flight to Mars, and given the cosmic rays for which we don't have adequate protection over such a long trip, discussions have focused recently on sending an ape instead of a person."

Estimates for the length of the journey to Mars vary depending on the type of mission envisioned, but the European Space Agency says its proposal for a round-trip mission would take 520 days, or about a year and a half.

If Russia pursues the idea of sending monkeys to Mars, Mikvabia's institute could become the site of an enclosed "biosphere" where apes would be kept for long periods to simulate spaceflights.

In a twist reminiscent of science fiction, the project would also include a robot designed to take care of the imprisoned ape.

"The robot will feed the monkey, will clean up after it. Our task will be to teach the monkey to cooperate with the robot," Mikvabia said.

History shows, however, that monkeys and technology can be a volatile combination.

Yerosha, perhaps the institute's best-known ape, freed a paw on his 13-day spaceflight in 1987 and started fiddling with buttons and tearing sensors off his body, much to the consternation of scientists on the ground.

Today's mission planners are determined to prevent such monkey business on the much longer and costlier trip to Mars.

"Technicians have told us that it's not difficult to build such a robot," Mikvabia said. "The hard part is teaching the monkey to live with the robot."

Source

10 Chimpanzees Are Freed From New Mexico Lab And Will Go To Save The Chimps

I'm sure if the Chimpanzees could, they would thank the anonymous donor for the 25,000.00 to move them. I don't know who you are, but I thank you for your kind heart!

Story-

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Ten retirees will arrive here Wednesday to spend their golden years basking in the Florida sun.

But you won’t find them on the golf courses, at the bingo parlors or in line for early bird specials. In fact, you’ll probably never see them at all.

The 10 are chimpanzees rescued from a laboratory in New Mexico and will be “retiring” to the Save the Chimps facility west of Fort Pierce. Since the 150-acre facility opened in 2001, a steady stream of chimpanzees — including veterans of NASA tests and space flights as well as former pets and “entertainment” animals — have been retired to live on 12 man-made islands with platforms, swings and rope bridges for their enjoyment.

The “retirement home” on Header Canal Road west of Fort Pierce is closed to the public. Even the staff keeps direct contact with the chimps to a minimum.

“Most of these chimps have been involved with biomedical research,” said Triana Romero, development director at Save the Chimps, noting that the nonprofit took over the Coulston Foundation lab in New Mexico when it was closed in 2002 because of violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

“What these chimps endured is tragic. Dr. (Carole) Noon (founder of Save the Chimps) made a promise that they would never be exploited again. So they’re enjoying a real retirement. We ask nothing of them.”

This week’s trip will drop the number of chimps at the Coulston lab to 109 and bring the population in Fort Pierce to 168. Romero said two more trips are planned in January and February. The goal is to have all the chimps moved to Fort Pierce by early 2011.

“It’s an involved process,” Romero said, “because family groups of 20 to 30 members need to be formed before they’re moved so that when they arrive (in Fort Pierce) they’re a solid group.”

The 2,000-mile trip that started at 4:30 p.m. Monday takes about 40 hours, with two drivers who divide time behind the wheel and an on-board caregiver. They stop only for fuel.

“The goal is to get them here as quickly as possible,” Romero said, adding that all 10 chimps will have window seats.

“For many of them, this will be their first time out of that dungeon-like facility,” she said, “so they like to look out the windows at the passing countryside.”

The cost of preparing the chimps before the move, moving them and getting them acquainted with their new homes comes to $2,500 per animal, or $25,000 for each trailer full of chimps. An anonymous donor paid the expenses of the 10 chimps arriving Wednesday.

Save the Chimps also held its first fund-raising event recently, a Nov. 19 gala auction at the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa attended by 200 to 250 non-chimpanzee primates.

“People had a wonderful time,” Romero said, “and we raised more than $19,000; so we’ll absolutely have more events.”

Source

Look At The Numbers Of Chimpanzees Used In Research For Hepatitis C!

This truly makes me sick to my stomach! I can vision these poor chimpanzees having to live day in and day out, in tiny cages, being darted for research, falling to concrete floors, and sick every single day of their lives. This is just awful! What did they ever do to deserve this?


ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Chimpanzees in hepatitis C virus research: 1998–2007

R.H. Bettauer

Bettauer BioMed Research, Mc Lean, VA, USA

Correspondence to Raija H. Bettauer, M.Sc., LL. M.,
Bettauer BioMed Research,
Mc Lean, VA, USA

ABSTRACT

Background Chimpanzees have been widely used in hepatitis C virus (HCV) research, but their endangered status and high financial and ethical costs have prompted a closer review.

Methods One hundred and nine articles published in 1998–2007 were analyzed for the number of chimpanzees involved, experimental procedures, objectives and other relevant issues.

Results The articles described the use of 852 chimpanzees, but accounting for likely multiple uses, the number of individual chimpanzees involved here is estimated to be approximately 500. Most articles addressed immunology and inoculation studies. A significant portion of studies lasted for several months or years. Approximately one half of the individual chimpanzees were each used in 2–10 studies.

Source and Finale

A Decade Of Research Shows Lack Of Impact On Human Health For Hepatitis C Study On Chimpanzees

Review of decade of research shows lack of impact on human health

The Humane Society of the United States questions the use of chimpanzees in hepatitis C testing despite a recent announcement claiming effective treatment of hepatitis C in chimpanzees with a new experimental drug. A recently published report, Chimpanzees in hepatitis C virus research: 1998-2007, initiated by The Humane Society of the United States, found that hepatitis C research on chimpanzees was not as useful as is claimed and urged a commitment to other approaches that show more promise for developing effective therapies for hepatitis C.

The HSUS-initiated report, in the Nov. 9 online edition of the Journal of Medical Primatology, identifies many scientific problems with the chimpanzee studies including a lack of biological relevance, questions regarding the statistical validity of the studies, and incompleteness in the reporting of methods and experimental data. While many of the published chimpanzee studies, including the recent study mentioned above (published in the Dec. 3 issue of Science Express), claim to produce important results for the treatment of human hepatitis C infections, closer scrutiny reveals the claims are exaggerated.

"The cost of using chimpanzees in research is enormous — both financially and in terms of chimpanzee suffering," says Andrew Rowan, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for The HSUS. "If you look collectively at their use, as our recent review does, the benefits for human health have been meager at best. For the most part, studies of hepatitis C in chimpanzees, such as the one most recently touted, do little more than confirm what is already suspected from research that does not involve chimpanzee use."

Experimental hepatitis C vaccines, usually developed and tested using chimpanzees, have been disappointing when tested in human patients, and the results from chimpanzees have not reliably predicted the human clinical experience. Among the many differences between chimpanzees and humans, chimpanzees do not develop active chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis or liver cancer and often spontaneously clear hepatitis C infection. More detailed scientific analysis and arguments regarding The HSUS' concerns related to the recent drug study and other data are available here.

Chimpanzees in hepatitis research suffer from isolation and confinement in small cages, as shown in The HSUS' 2009 undercover investigation, and must endure invasive procedures from repeated liver punches and wedge biopsies to remove liver tissue. Very few of the more than 100 published papers report the use of anesthetics or pain-relieving drugs in chimpanzee studies, although liver biopsy usually requires sedation and painkillers when done in human patients.

In vitro and other technological developments in conjunction with human studies hold more promise for the development of effective vaccines to prevent hepatitis C infections and treat the estimated 170 million people currently infected with this virus.

Facts

• The study Chimpanzees in hepatitis C virus research: 1998-2007 by Raija Bettauer, M.S., reviewed 109 articles, the total number of articles in the PubMed database published in English between January 1998 and December 2007 involving live chimpanzees.
• Although results of hepatitis C studies using chimpanzees have questionable application to humans regardless of the number of chimpanzees used, nearly 50 percent of the studies used only one to three chimpanzees — leading to major questions regarding the statistical significance of any findings reported.
• More than 50 percent of the chimpanzees were used in multiple studies but papers typically failed to mention previous health history or its potential impact.
• The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 1326) would phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive research, retire the 500 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, and prohibit the breeding of chimpanzees for invasive research.

To learn more about chimps in research, visit humanesociety.org/chimps.

-30-

Follow The Humane Society of the United States on Twitter.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the Web at humanesociety.org.

Source

End Chimpanzee Research

Non-U.S./non-Canadian Citizens: Sign to Show Your Support

As we build momentum to end chimpanzee research in the U.S., your signature and that of millions of others across the globe will build a strong case for our Campaign. All non-U.S./non-Canadian citizens please sign today! We encourage you to email your friends and family to get as many people as possible to do the same, building on the growing awareness around the world that experimenting on chimpanzees is wrong (click here to read about the EU and other international bans.)

The petition will be delivered to key U.S. legislators by NEAVS/Project R&R as we move forward with our efforts to change.

To learn more and to sign the petition

3 Seperate Incidents Of Chimpanzees Escaping From Research Facility

First lets talk about what this organization does. They do research on Primates, for, but not limited to; drug addiction, obesity, malaria, and AIDS. Drug Addition, why in the world do we need this kind of research? Just take a drug addicted person and do research on them, after all they are the ones that put themselves in that position to begin with. Obesity, well I'm well aware that sometimes this condition is medical, though with all of technology today why is there a need to do this to Primates? Malaria, now this is a joke in itself, when was the last case of Malaria in the US? Are we expecting an outbreak? and this is crucial to society? AIDS, well, even though I'm aware that some people did not contract this disease because of their own decisions, however, some people have by their own actions of sexual preferences or no safety against this disease. Why should innocent Primates be tested for things that don't even exist in their natural world?

Perhaps if humans were more careful, more aware and took the necessary precautions, we wouldn't have these issues.

Secondly, the three incidents of Chimpanzee escapes from this facility is a fine example of how the USDA does not act accordingly to what they stand for. After the first escape, there should have been an investigation as to HOW they escaped and the correct measures should have been taken then. A second and third escape should never have happened IF the USDA did their job properly. As in another article, I stated that for the USDA to regulate, fine and charge another government facility is not normally in their protocol!

Thirdly, These unfortunate Primates have been injected with diseases, so an escape into the public could have been devastating!

Story-

Over the past five months, three incidents of chimpanzee escapes have occurred from the outdoor enclosure at the Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research located in Bastrop, TX. The facility is part of University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The latest incident occurred on April 2, 2008; the chimpanzee was quickly recaptured and safely returned to the facility.

For all three incidents, no animals came in contact with the public.

Escapes from any federally supported animal housing facility are of great concern and are reviewed individually and immediately. NCRR is taking the following steps to address the situation:

• NCRR has reviewed the operating procedures of the Keeling Center. Changes have been made to address those incidents; and,
• to assess procedures in more detail, NCRR/NIH representatives will make a site visit to the Keeling Center on April 8, 2008, to determine whether additional corrective actions to management practices are necessary to ensure the safety of the community, facility personnel, and animals.

The actions taken and protocols implemented will be shared with all federal facilities that house chimpanzees. NCRR will continue to work with representatives of the Keeling Center to develop any additional steps necessary to ensure safe and appropriate operation of the facility.
Source

This is what they do, check them out-

Nonhuman primates such as rhesus monkeys are critical for biomedical research because of their close physiological similarities to humans. They enable discoveries that apply directly to studies on human health and help scientists test treatments for health conditions such as drug addiction, obesity, malaria, and AIDS.

NCRR's nonhuman primate program funds animals, facilities, technologies, and materials that support this research. NCRR also is responsible for the National Institutes of Health Chimpanzee Management Program.

AND-

NCRR's Division of Comparative Medicine helps meet the needs of biomedical researchers for high-quality, disease-free animals and specialized animal research facilities. The Division supports both individuals and research organizations.
Source

Primate Investigation Of The University Of Louisana Conducted By The Humane Society

Feb 2009 the video went up, investigation was in 2008 and they are still there being tortured!
This is one of many reasons why the new law has to pass congress, to prevent this torture of Monkeys and Chimpanzees.
If you go to the top of this blog, under the photo there a link to find out who your representative is in your area to contact.

I would hope that every person that watches this video does their small part to help prevent this in the future and to help these poor Innocent Primates to get out of there. We treat our criminals in jail better then this and they have broken laws, raped, stolen, killed and tortured people, what have these primate done to deserve this? Money, that's all it is, they do this for the drug companies!

Video Source

Chimpanzee Kidneys for People?

This is awful!

Partial Story-

Despite the lack of success in transplanting baboon kidneys, doctors did not stop trying. A year later, chimpanzee kidneys were transplanted into 12 patients in New Orleans. Most patients died soon after but one survived nine months with no signs of rejection. This small “success” allowed surgeons to go further, this time transplanting a chimpanzee heart into a 68-year-old male, who only survived for a mere two hours. Five years later, in 1969, while Buzz Aldrin was walking on the moon and Jimi Hendrix was rocking Woodstock, a little child received a liver transplant from a chimpanzee. The child only survived one day.

The most famous xenotransplantation occurred in 1984. The Baby Fae case sparked an international debate on the ethical use of xenotransplantation. Stephanie Fae Beauclair, better known as Baby Fae, was an American infant born in 1984 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. She became the first infant subject of a xenotransplant procedure, receiving the heart of a baboon. The procedure, performed by Leonard L. Bailey at Loma Linda University Medical Center, initially appeared to be successful, but Fae died 21 days later of a kidney infection. Despite the constant failure of using primates in surgery, doctors continued to research the subject. In 1992, the most successful case of xenotransplantation occurred, when a four-drug cocktail assisted a baboon liver transplant. The patient died 71 days later of a brain hemorrhage, which was unrelated to the typical rejection seen in cross-species transplantation.

Source and Full story

PETA Protests Against Squirrel Monkeys Used In Radiation Experiments. GO PETA!

These are the types of Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, that they want to do Radiation experiments on. Shame on you!

Animal rights activists, some dressed in monkey suits and posing in cages, will protest today at Belmont’s McLean Hospital against a controversial Harvard Medical School study that involves zapping primates with massive doses of radiation.

“Monkeys are highly social, sensitive and intelligent animals who suffer immensely in laboratories,” said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals investigator Kathy Guillermo. “Condemning them to a lifetime of torment, pain and confinement at McLean Hospital for another trivial NASA experiment about space travel is unjustifiable.”

The National Aeronautics and Space Commission is spending a reported $1.75 million to zap 28 squirrel monkeys with radiation levels comparable to three years of space travel. The animals will be dosed in New York and shipped to McLean to live out their lives in cages under the watch of Harvard doctors. PETA officials say similar tests on monkeys have caused fatal cancer, cognitive decline and premature aging.

Harvard officials have declined to comment. PETA members were scheduled to protest outside McLean at noon.

While NASA officials have stood by the project, PETA says computer modeling or testing on former astronauts could provide quality data.

“Experiments such as these not only harm animals but also suggest that human beings are not creative or compassionate enough to pursue knowledge and explore space without ruthlessly hurting others,” PETA officials wrote in a recent letter to NASA.

Belmont state Rep. William Brownsberger, a Democrat, said he was unaware of the monkey testing in his district but called the program “troubling.”

Source

Brookhaven Lab, May Experiment On Monkeys Has Been Funded By NASA

Shame on you NASA! Didn't you learn anything about abuse with the Chimpanzees?

December 3, 2009 By NEWSDAY STAFF lidesk@newsday.com

An unusual NASA-funded experiment proposed by a Harvard scientist to expose as many as 18 monkeys to radiation could put Brookhaven National Laboratory, a possible site of the study, at the center of a controversy.

The experiment would expose squirrel monkeys to levels of radiation similar to those encountered in spacecraft traveling to Mars to help determine what might happen to astronauts...

Source

PETA Calls On McLean Hospital To STOP Radiation Testing On Monkeys

PETA Calls On McLean Hospital to Nix NASA Tests on Monkeys
Caged 'Monkeys' Up in Arms Over Planned Radiation Experiments
Went to Boston media

For Immediate Release:
December 3, 2009

Contact:
Ashley Byrne at 757-622-7382

Boston -- Wearing monkey masks while locked inside small cages and holding signs that read, "Stop Radiation Tests on Monkeys," PETA members will protest outside Harvard's McLean Hospital in Belmont on Friday. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to squander $1.75 million in taxpayer funds on cruel radiation experiments on monkeys. Harvard faculty will carry out the experiments at McLean Hospital. As many as 28 squirrel monkeys will be exposed to a massive dose of radiation and will then be locked in barren cages at the hospital for the rest of their lives. While there, the animals will be used in experiments to assess the damage the radiation causes--damage that will likely include cancer, premature aging, and cognitive decline.

"Monkeys are highly social, sensitive, and intelligent animals who suffer immensely in laboratories" says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "Condemning them to a lifetime of torment, pain, and confinement at McLean Hospital for another trivial NASA experiment about space travel is unjustifiable."

When: Friday, December 4, 12 noon

Where: Outside McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Rd. (outside main entrance), Belmont

PETA's letter to NASA is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Source

Types of Animal Research

Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering is the manipulation of the genetic code (the DNA, or genes) of a living organism. Generally, genes are removed (‘knocked out’), added (‘knocked in’), or altered to change their expression or function in some way. In the process, animals are treated as objects, their lives devalued, as they are manipulated at will by scientists.

The technology is used in most fields of research and can be divided into four fundamental areas of study: biomedical research, xenotransplantation, pharming, and agriculture production.

In biomedical research,
scientists genetically modify animals to study
basic biology and to develop artificial ‘models’
of human diseases. In xenotransplantation research,
transgenic animals are engineered
specifically to produce organs, tissues,
or cells that can be ‘harvested’ and
transplanted into humans. In pharming,
animals are genetically engineered
to serve as incubators or bioreactors
for the production of pharmaceuticals
for human use. In agriculture production,
livestock are genetically engineered to
grow bigger and faster, produce leaner
meat, or be resistant to disease.
Transgenic animals are also produced
as pets.
Over the past decade, the production and use of genetically modified animals has increased tremendously. Since most of the animals used are mice and rats, who are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act, it is impossible to know exactly how many genetically engineered animals are used for such applications. It is estimated, however, that approximately 40 million genetically engineered animals are used worldwide just in the study of human diseases.

Despite researchers’ increasing interest in genetic engineering, animal health problems still consistently plague their efforts. Genetic engineering studies consume massive quantities of animals, and it requires hundreds to thousands of animals to create each ‘strain.’ Due to the unpredictability of the technology and frequent errors, a significant percentage of transgenic animals exhibit health issues and anatomic, physiologic, or behavioral abnormalities, causing significant animal suffering. Indeed, suffering is often inherent in the very design and purpose of the genetic modification.

Genetic engineering applications also raise concerns about human safety due to the risk of zoonoses, or the transmission of animals diseases to humans. These issues, as well as additional concerns about impacts on the environment from the escape or release of transgenic animals, the ethics of genetically manipulating animals, and whether products from genetically modified animals would be labeled as such, have yet to be seriously addressed.

To make matters worse, researchers use cloning to propagate ‘strains’ of transgenic animals. Cloning, like genetic engineering, causes tremendous animal suffering, and the combination of the two technologies takes an unprecedented toll on animal life.

In addition, researchers who ‘create’ genetically modified animals also typically seek patents on them. These patents cover not only the methods used to produce the transgenic animals, but also the animals themselves. Animal patenting, however, is highly unethical, treating complex, sentient beings as human inventions that are mere ‘articles of manufacture.’

Genetic engineering is an amazing feat of science, but it is fraught with serious and disturbing consequences. Not only does it represent one of the greatest threats to animals used in research, but it also has the potential to fundamentally change how humans view and use animals – for the worse. Researchers have an obligation to use this technology responsibly and ethically, and there need to be comprehensive regulations that ensure that animals, humans, and the environment are protected.

The golden age of biology should not be represented by the genetic engineering of animals, but rather by the harnessing of technological innovation for the development of non-animal models that will transform biomedical research into a more humane, reliable, and useful field of study.

Read more about animals used in Genetic Engineering:

"Genetic Modification of Animals in Biomedical Research: The science, the numbers, the cost", AV Magazine Winter 2004.
Peter Theran, VMD, discusses the questionable ethics of genetic modification, explaining how it compromises animal welfare, demands substantial financial support, and retards the soundness of society's core ideologies.

Other Types of Research:

Psychology Research
Military Research
Space Research
Genetic Engineering

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