Programs & Campaigns
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2004
FOUNDER OF CHIMPANZEE SANCTUARY SPEAKS IN BOSTON
Event Marks NEAVS' Commemoration of
World Week for Animals in Laboratories
Boston, MA -The New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS)
sponsors Gloria Grow, founder of the Fauna Sanctuary for abused
and neglected animals, at an event as part of a commemoration of
the international World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL).
"In Their Own Words: Stories of Chimpanzees Rescued from
Research," a lecture and audiovisual tour of the Fauna Sanctuary,
will be held on Sunday, April 25th, from 1:30-4:00 p.m., in the
Press Room of the Omni Parker House (School Street, Boston, MA.)
In 1997, Fauna rescued 15 chimpanzees from the Laboratory for Experimental
Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). Today, in the loving
care of Grow; her partner, Richard Allan, D.V.M.; and staff, these
chimps are recovering from years of pain, fear and trauma. The sanctuary,
which occupies 300 acres outside of Montreal, has constructed spacious
chimpanzee quarters, complete with decks, overhead chutes for traveling
from place to place around the farm; and handicap-accessible railing
and ramps.
Having spent most of their lives confined to individual steel cages
in a sterile laboratory, the Fauna chimpanzees are now being successfully
introduced to group life. They are treated with respect and dignity
while enjoying a caring and enriching environment. But their stories
do not end here.
Despite their growing sense of security and freedom, the chimpanzees
continue to suffer the emotional and physical scars of their years
in research. Pepper, for example, endured 307 knockdowns, 36 punch
liver biopsies, 6 cervical biopsies, 4 bone marrow biopsies, and
10 lymph node biopsies during her time at LEMSIP. The audience will
meet Pepper, Yoko, Jethro, and the other chimpanzees and hear the
moving and inspiring stories of their recovery and re-socialization.
NEAVS works in collaboration with Fauna. Says Dr. Theo Capaldo,
NEAVS' President, "When I first met these chimps, I knew that
despite this safe and loving home, they were struggling to recover
from years of trauma. As a psychologist, I know how hard that transition
is. NEAVS has vowed to do everything in our power to help these
chimps and other victims of the research industry."
Last year NEAVS helped fund overhead chutes at Fauna so that the
chimps can explore the sanctuary in safety and enjoy new sources
of behavioral enrichment. In previous years NEAVS helped fund "chimp
proof" glass for the chimpanzee house-a dream of Grow's so
the chimps could see their world without bars. NEAVS also made it
possible for an expert in chimpanzee behavior and re-socialization
to help Fauna integrate all of its chimpanzee family into one cohesive
social group.
Says Capaldo, "We want to motivate people to help end the
plight of chimpanzees still in research. This event promises to
bring us a step closer to knowing and understanding our 'next of
kin.' That knowledge, in turn, will bring us closer to the day when
ALL chimpanzees are freed from ALL laboratories everywhere."
NEAVS invites you to meet Ms. Grow as she shares her unique perspectives
on the human-chimpanzee relationship, the effects of their captivity,
and their struggles to put the atrocities of their pasts behind
them. World Week for Animals in Labs is recommended for those with
interests in animal advocacy, concern for great apes and their captive
conditions, and those seeking to end the use of chimpanzees in research.
A $10.00 donation ($5.00 student/senior) is requested for admission.
For more information, visit NEAVS web site at www.neavs.org
or the Fauna Foundation at www.faunafoundation.org
About Fauna Sanctuary:
Fauna has been featured on the Discovery Network's 2001 documentary
"Sanctuary: A New Life for Research Chimps"; in Discover
Magazine's May 2002 article "An Embarrassment of Chimpanzees";
and other international media venues.
About New England Anti-Vivisection Society:
The New England Anti-Vivisection Society, founded in 1895, works
to expose and replace animal experiments in laboratories and classrooms
with ethically and scientifically responsible modern alternative
research methods.
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