Stop the import of primates into the U.S.

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NEAVS/Project R & R <releasechimps

Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 4:11 AM

Stop the import of primates into the U.S.

 

 

<http://www.neavs.org>

 

*ACTION ALERT*

<http://www.buav.org/>

 

 

 

*Help stop the import of primates **from Cambodia into the U.S.*

 

A recent investigation carried out in Cambodia by the British Union for the

Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV <http://www.buav.org/>) has revealed severe

cruelty and suffering during capture, handling, and trade of primates

destined for the research industry. The investigation focused on the

long-tailed macaque, a protected species listed in Appendix II of CITES

(Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species).

 

 

 

The Cambodian government is allowing what appears to be a largely

unregulated and rapidly expanding international trade in macaques, resulting

in indiscriminate and widespread trapping. The investigation showed that

despite the establishment of captive breeding programs, monkeys are being

taken from the wild in large numbers to replenish the

breeding populations.

The U.S. is one of the largest importers of monkeys for research

from Cambodia. In addition to the profound humane and ethical considerations

regarding their use in research, the U.S. government needs to take seriously

the species' protected status and the effect that this cruel and prolific

trade is having on them.

 

*Our responsibility*

 

Right: infants, too young to be away from their mothers, cling to each other

 

 

" Until we stop importing monkeys for U.S. research, our government is guilty

of supporting what would amount to civil rights violations if our genetic

cousins were human. The U.S. scientific community must end its self-serving

interest which creates a moral blind spot in what we allow other countries

to do with and to their indigenous wildlife. NEAVS <http://neavs.org/> joins

BUAV's efforts with nothing short of full commitment to this important

campaign. "

 

- Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., NEAVS president

 

 

 

 

*Act now!*

 

*1. Write to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. CITES authority, and ask them

to stop the importation of Cambodian macaques into the U.S.*

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Division of CITES Management Authority

4401 N. Fairfax Drive

Room 212

Arlington, VA 22203-3247

USA

email: http://www.fws.gov/DUSPIT/contactus.htm

 

 

*2. Write to the Cambodian Ambassador to the U.S. and ask him to urge his

government to place an immediate ban on the capture, breeding, and export of

long-tailed macaques destined for the research industry.*

 

His Excellency Mr. EK Sereywath

Ambassador

Royal Embassy of Cambodia

4530 16th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20011

 

*Watch the undercover footage*

Right: infant monkey calls for his mother after being torn from her by

trappers

 

** " Appallingly, the monkeys were even hunted inside a nature reserve in

Cambodia — supposedly a place of safety. The hunters used catapults and beat

the tree trunks with oars to scare the monkeys out of the trees and drive

them into nets. Then screaming in terror, or rigid with fear, these highly

intelligent creatures were grabbed by their tails, stuffed into bags and

stored in the bottom of a boat before being sold to a dealer of a monkey

farm. " – BUAV

<http://www.buav.org/e_projecty.php>

 

 

 

* Photo and video credits: BUAV*

 

 

 

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--

" Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man

will not himself find peace. " -Albert Schweitzer