[shac-uk] Support email alert against Nepal's primate exports

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Please write and use your own words. Use below letter as template or for background information. Thanks. MargaretACTION ALERT - IMMEDIATE RELEASENepal breeding centres for primate exports to US research Labs. Please email, telephone, write or fax your disgust at the behaviour of the Nepal Government.For addresses of Nepalese embassies worldwide go tohttp://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/nepal1.htmlSample'>http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/nepal1.htmlSample letter:Dear Prime Minister, Ambassador,Since 2003 your government allows the breeding and export of rhesus monkeys for biomedical. What's more, your government actually provide

primate centres with monkeys from National Parks managed by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.The primary objectives of your government are to conserve the country's major representative ecosystems, unique natural and cultural heritage, and give protection to the valuable and endangered wildlife species. Now that you are supporting the breeding and exporting of primates for biomedical research, these objectives are being violated.Monkeys are considered sacred and an important part of Nepal 's heritage for a number of reasons. Monkeys are highly intelligent animals and maintain intricate social structures. They have complex emotional lives, caring for one another and showing love to their babies as we humans do to our children. Ethically, using monkeys in experiments that inflict mental and physical pain is unacceptable and unconscionable.Research illustrates that primate experimentation is no longer the

"goldstandard" for study design. Past experience has demonstrated thatanimal-modelled biomedical research yields results that cannot be safely applied to humans. In addition, there are now many alternative research methods (methods not using living animals) that are capable of providing clinically relevant data.We believe the decision is not in accordance with the Working Policy onWildlife Farming, Breeding and Research 2003, as communities living with monkeys do not benefit from this development at all, and inflicting suffering to animals goes against the spirit of the Muluki Ain. If the Government is serious about supporting animal conservation and helping farmer communities it should implement long term, scientific solutions to monkey overpopulation, such as birth control and farm land protection.Nepal will not deserve credit for providing monkeys for biomedical research by maintaining outdated, unreliable, and unethical methods for

conducting studies.We are now living in an era when ethics as well as state-of-the-art studydesign are important considerations when doing research.Global trends indicate a strong movement towards the abolition of experiments on primates. This is one of the reasons why it is increasingly difficult for American research centres to find sufficient research primates. However, an increasing number of primates are needed by the US , especially for bio-terrorism research. American centres try to find loopholes in the world's legal animal rights provisions, and in Nepal (one of the few countries in the world still largely without such legislation) it has found ideal working ground.I strongly request your government to demonstrate its commitment to enlightened and ethical research practices by halting (breeding facilities for) biomedical research on Nepalese monkeys and implement legislation to prevent such developments from reoccurring.Thanking

you in advance,Embassy of Nepal12A Kensington Palace GardensLondon W8 4QU Tel: +44 (0)207 229 1594+44 (0)207 229 6231+44 (0)207 229 5352 Fax: +44 (0)207 792 9861E-mail: eonFor addresses of Nepalese embassies worldwide go tohttp://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/nepal1.html

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