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(Albuquerque, NM) – Luminaries from numerous professions—Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, former Governor David Cargo, former District Attorneys Randall Harris and Robert Schwartz, New Mexico Veterinary Board members Drs. Ray Powell, John Romero and Susan Larsen, as well as veterinarian Brent Parker, and Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM)—have filed Motions for Leave to file Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) briefs with the New Mexico Supreme Court in response to an Appeals Court ruling that exempts from cruelty prosecution deliberately neglectful conduct resulting in chimpanzee abuse and deaths allegedly committed by Charles River Laboratories and Donald Rick Lee, DVM.
The Supreme Court has 30 days from July 5—the date the State filed for Writ of Certiorari—to decide whether or not to take the case under review.
The petitions respond to a New Mexico Court of Appeals decision that concludes that no matter how “negligent or even deliberately neglectful” the conduct of veterinarians is, they are exempt from prosecution under the New Mexico cruelty statute. The June 14 ruling also found that the New Mexico legislature expressly intended that veterinarians should be exempt from prosecution if they deliberately abandon or fail to provide necessary sustenance to animals under their charge, and that the defendants’ business decision that resulted in the intentional denial of veterinary care to the chimpanzees Rex, Ashley and Topsy falls under the definition of the “practice of veterinary medicine” in New Mexico.
The Appeals Court ruling stems from the historic criminal cruelty charges filed by Otero County D.A. Scot Key in 2004 alleging that defendants made a “standard practice” of abandoning critically ill or injured chimpanzees to untrained security guards. Abuses of these same chimpanzees by the lab’s previous operator, the Coulston Foundation, prompted the New Mexico legislature to amend the state’s cruelty statute in 2001, which removed the blanket exemption for research labs, such as that operated by defendants, and made them prosecutable for criminal animal cruelty.
APNM Legislative Director Heather Greenhood stated, “We applaud the fact that so many highly credentialed scientists, veterinarians, prosecutors and politicians have taken such a strong and principled stand against cruelty in New Mexico.” She noted that Albuquerque Mayor Chavez and Governor Bill Richardson are both members of the state’s new Animal Cruelty Task Force.
“We believe these petitions speak for themselves—and speak volumes,” Greenhood concluded. “We believe that petitioners’ arguments against cruelty and abuse, and for accountability and the rule of law, should be read by every citizen concerned about these critical issues.”
The four Supreme Court Amicus Petitions, the Appeals Court ruling and the state’s filing for Writ of Certiorari are available below:
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Petition for Amicus by Jane Goodall, individually and on behalf of the Jane Goodall Institute [download pdf: amicus_jane_goodall.pdf]
Petition for Amicus by Veterinary Drs. Ray Powell, Dr. Brent Parker, Dr. John Romero and Dr. Susan Larsen
[download pdf:amicus_veterinarians.pdf]
Petition for Amicus by Mayor Martin Chavez
[download pdf: amicus_mayor_chavez.pdf]
Petition for Amicus by Former Attorny General Patricia Madrid, Honorable Governor David Cargo, Robert Schwartz, Esq., Randall Harris, Esq. and Elisabeth Jennings, individually and on behalf of, Animal Protection of New Mexico [download pdf: amicus_attorneys.pdf]
New Mexico Court of Appeals Ruling on State of New Mexico v. Charles River Laboratories and Dr. Donald Rick Lee
[download pdf: nm_appeals_court_ruling.pdf]
New Mexico Attorney General's Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the New Mexico Supreme Court [download pdf]
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