New England Anti-vivisection Society (NEAVS)

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NEAVS Announces Comprehensive Website Dedicated to Ending Chimpanzee Research in the U.S.

www.releasechimps.org exposes the research life of chimpanzees,
provides activist tools to build public support, and
shares stories of rescue

Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories today announced a new, dedicated website focused on ending chimpanzee research in the United States. Project R&R is a national campaign of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS).

“This site provides the most comprehensive information available on what has happened and continues to happen behind lab doors to these incredibly intelligent and social beings,” says Theodora Capaldo, EdD, President of NEAVS and Director of Project R&R. “The time is right to end chimpanzee research, and this website is a crucial tool to inform chimpanzee advocates and build public support.”

· Articles chronicling the history of use of chimpanzees in air and space research, organ transplants, and fatal infections, as well as their current and most prevalent uses in research today.

· The names and ages of hundreds of chimpanzees currently held in U.S. laboratories –including Wenka, Gwen, and others who are more than 50 years old.

· Personal accounts of lab workers who witnessed the traumas endured by chimpanzees in research and the failures of the Animal Welfare Act to protect them.

· The histories of Ham, Tom, Jeannie, Georgette, Pepper and other chimpanzees used in research – many of whom are now safe in sanctuaries.

Project R&R’s website also provides extensive online advocacy tools, including a 15-minute educational video. Advocates can sign up for Project R&R e-news, sign online petitions, and forward information about the site to their personal email community.

The U.S. is the last remaining major user of chimpanzees in research in the world. Seven countries including Great Britain and Austria have banned or severely limited chimpanzee use. An estimated 1,300 chimpanzees remain in U.S. labs.

The Project R&R advisory board includes: famed primatologist Jane Goodall, PhD; Carole Noon, PhD, director of the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in the world; Gloria Grow, founder of the first sanctuary to accept HIV infected chimpanzees; Roger Fouts, PhD; and former Senator Bob Smith, who co-sponsored the CHIMP Act of 2000.