San Antonio, Texas (July 16, 2010) – In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection and rescue organization, is transporting 55 rescued long-tailed macaque monkeys from an insolvent toxicology laboratory in Oxford, New Jersey. Continuing a journey that began yesterday, IDA will deliver eight of the monkeys to their new home at Mindy’s Memory Sanctuary in Newcastle, Oklahoma today. The transport will continue with three more stops in Texas tonight and Saturday at Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Primarily Primates, and Born Free USA primate sanctuaries. IDA coordinated their 1,700-mile journey, which is utilizing a specialized animal transport service.

Click here for video of the rescue. Click here for photos of the rescue. Click here for B-roll footage of monkeys in laboratories.

“These young monkeys would have been subjected to decades behind bars in cramped stainless steel cages, forced to endure painful toxicology tests,” said IDA president Scotlund Haisley. “Now they will have a life filled with fresh air, friends and freedom from harm.”

The lab the monkeys came from had been repeatedly cited by the USDA for Animal Welfare Act violations and had a license to sell animals. If not for this rescue, these monkeys could very well have ended up in other labs that routinely perform extremely invasive or terminal experiments on long-tailed macaques. Published articles from 2010 describe experimentation ranging from brain lesions, invasive brain studies of auditory, motor and visual cortex, Ebola virus, stroke, plague and drug-induced seizures. These intelligent, social primates suffer when imprisoned for decades in stark lab environments. Monkeys often display clinical signs of depression and abnormal behavior including hair pulling, stereotypic circling and pacing, and even self mutilation.

The rescue was initiated by New York-based activist Camille Hankins, following an anonymous tip from a former animal caregiver at the recently closed lab. After negotiations with the company hired to liquidate the “assets” of the lab, a proposal to release the animals was accepted, with the crucial assistance of IDA pro bono attorney Kathryn Flood of the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney.

“We are proud to have played this significant role in helping to rescue these monkeys from the horrors of the lab,” concluded Haisley. “These are the lucky ones. We are inspired to renew our commitment to end the institutionalized abuse that is animal experimentation.”

For more information, visit www.idausa.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Eric Kleiman, 717-939-3231, ericsk@idausa.org

Oxford, N.J. (July 15, 2010) – In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection and rescue organization, along with several other groups has rescued 118 beagles and 55 long-tailed macaque monkeys from an insolvent toxicology laboratory in Oxford, New Jersey. The beagles were transported from the lab to shelters two weeks ago. Today, IDA will take the monkeys to their new homes at four primate sanctuaries in Oklahoma and Texas. IDA assisted in facilitating the final agreements and coordinated their 1,700-mile journey, which will utilize a specialized animal transport service.

Video and photos of the rescue and B-roll footage of monkeys in laboratories available upon request.

“Rescuing these young macaques from a miserable lifetime locked in a lab furthers In Defense of Animals’ mission in protecting the rights, welfare and habitat of animals,” said IDA president Scotlund Haisley. “These young monkeys would have been subjected to decades behind bars in cramped stainless steel cages, forced to endure painful toxicology tests. Now they will have a life filled with fresh air, friends, and freedom from harm.”

This lab had been repeatedly cited by the USDA for Animal Welfare Act violations and had a license to sell animals. If not for today’s rescue, these monkeys could very well have ended up in other labs that routinely perform extremely invasive or terminal experiments on long-tailed macaques. Published articles from 2010 describe experimentation ranging from brain lesions, invasive brain studies of auditory, motor and visual cortex, Ebola virus, stroke, plague and drug-induced seizures. These intelligent, social nonhuman primates suffer when imprisoned for decades in stark lab environments. Monkeys often display clinical signs of depression and abnormal behavior including hair pulling, stereotypic circling and pacing, and even self mutilation.

The rescue was initiated by New York-based activist Camille Hankins, following an anonymous tip from a former animal caregiver at the recently closed lab.  After negotiations with the company hired to liquidate the “assets” of the lab, a proposal to release the animals was accepted, with the crucial assistance of IDA pro bono attorney Kathryn Flood of the law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. Several animal shelters and sanctuaries stepped up to save the monkeys and the beagles from the lab. IDA also helped coordinate the rescue of some of the beagles.

For years, IDA has exposed and halted invasive experiments on nonhuman primates. After an eight-year campaign, IDA forced the insolvency of the Coulston Foundation primate testing lab. As a result, over 300 nonhuman primates were permanently retired: 266 chimpanzees by Save the Chimps, and 61 long-tailed macaques by one of the sanctuaries involved in this current rescue, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation. IDA stopped crack cocaine experiments on monkeys conducted at New York University and has obtained tens of thousands of pages of primate laboratory records after winning multiple open records lawsuits.

According to the USDA, between 2007 and 2009, primate experimentation increased significantly.

“We are proud to have played this significant role in helping to rescue these monkeys and beagles from the horrors of the lab,” concluded Haisley. “These are the lucky ones. We are inspired to renew our commitment to end the institutionalized abuse that is animal experimentation.”

The Texas sanctuaries Born Free USA, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Primarily Primates, and the Oklahoma sanctuary Mindy’s Memory will receive the monkeys and begin introducing them to one another in their new homes.

For more information, visit www.idausa.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Rossell, 530-890-5151, matt@idausa.org

“Squirrel monkeys would receive a level of radiation similar to what an astronaut would encounter on a Mars mission,” the BNL statement explains.

“The monkeys would then live out the remainder of their natural lifetime at McLean [Hospital], while researchers there would observe them for subtle changes in behavior and performance.”

Researchers from McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, would conduct the study at a NASA facility on the Brookhaven Lab premises.

Opposition

Several animal protection groups oppose the study. In Defense of Animals (IDA) and International Primate Protection League (IPPL) have filed a complaint with NASA and BNL.

“NASA’s proposed experiments would inundate these tiny monkeys—only a foot tall—with one massive burst of gamma radiation equal to a three-year journey to Mars and back,” said IDA researcher Tony Carr in a media release.

“Since the 1950s, thousands of primates have been exposed to various dosages of radiation including radio frequency, microwave, X-ray, gamma, electron, proton, neutron and other particle radiation,” said Carr. “Studies have already shown that gamma radiation can cause depressive behavior, immobility, hyperirritability, convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, hair loss, open sores, skin hemorrhages, and even death.

“Previous research has also proven that animals of different species—even of different strains of the same species—react differently to radiation, which calls into question the experiments’ scientific value in advancing protection for human astronauts.”

Celebrities Speak Out

IDA reports that celebrities including Woody Harrelson, Zachary Quinto, Alicia Silverstone, James Cromwell, Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, Emily Deschanel, and Elizabeth Perkins have signed on to an IDA-drafted letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., and BNL Director Dr. Samuel Aronson.

“NASA has already committed $1.75 million in taxpayer money to the experiments,” said Carr. “NASA wants BNL—a lab run by the U.S. Department of Energy—to conduct the radiation portion of the experiments. BNL has not yet decided to proceed. Experiments are being reviewed by BNL’s safety, science, and animal welfare committees.”

The BNL statement adds, “All studies at the NASA facility require approval by multiple review committees.”

To sign on to the IDA’s letter:

https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1371

To comment on the proposed NASA squirrel monkey experiments:

Brookhaven National Lab
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
Tel. (631) 344-8000

Read the full article here

San Rafael, Calif. – In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization with over 85,000 members, today released letters from celebrities opposed to NASA-funded experiments. The experiments, which NASA wants conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), involve irradiating squirrel monkeys. IDA and the International Primate Protection League (IPPL), a South Carolina-based non-profit dedicated to protecting the world’s primates, filed a complaint about the experiments.

The celebrities signed on to the IDA-drafted letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., and BNL Director Dr. Samuel Aronson. Those who have signed to date are: Woody Harrelson, Zachary Quinto, Alicia Silverstone, James Cromwell, Allison Janney, Kristen Bell, Emily Deschanel, and Elizabeth Perkins.

NASA’s proposed experiments would inundate these tiny monkeys – only a foot tall – with one massive burst of gamma radiation equal to a 3-year journey to Mars and back. Since the 1950′s, thousands of primates have been exposed to various dosages of radiation including radio frequency, microwave, X-ray, gamma, electron, proton, neutron and other particle radiation. Studies have already shown that gamma radiation can cause depressive behavior, immobility, hyperirritability, convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, hair loss, open sores, skin hemorrhages, and even death.

Previous research has also proven that animals of different species – even of different strains of the same species – react differently to radiation, which calls into question the experiments’ scientific value in advancing protection for human astronauts.

NASA has already committed $1.75 million in taxpayer money to the experiments. NASA wants BNL – a lab run by the Department of Energy – to conduct the radiation portion of the experiments. BNL has not yet decided to proceed. The experiments are being reviewed by BNL’s safety, science, and animal welfare committees.

Copies of the IDA/IPPL complaint and the celebrities’ letters are available upon request.

For more information, please visit www.idausa.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rachel Weil, rachel@weilpr.com, 818-341-3646
Eric Kleiman, ericsk@idausa.org, 717-939-3231