|
|
| |
Animal Protection of New Mexico has asked for your help before to improve the resulting Institute of Medicine (IOM) study, and several significant changes were achieved.
On August 11th and 12th, the IOM will host a public workshop in Washington, D.C., where scientists in support of and against chimp research will make formal presentations.
APNM’s Laura Bonar will speak to the committee on Thursday morning during public comment, Dr. Jane Goodall will present to the committee Thursday afternoon. You can call in and listen to the event–check the IOM website for a draft agenda and more information.
RIGHT NOW, chimpanzees at APF and across our country need your help to secure permanent retirement and sanctuary care.
Can you write to the IOM and ask that they recommend an end to cruel and frivolous invasive research with chimpanzees? Use this link to submit comments to the IOM chimp study, you can cut and paste from sample comments below.
Be sure to sign and personalize your comments:
Subject: Chimps Deserve Ethical Consideration
Comments:
Dear IOM Chimp Study Committee,
Thank you for taking on the ambitious task to study the Use of Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
As a compassionate and caring person, I have been horrified to learn of the abuses that chimpanzees endure in U.S. laboratories. Despite government assurance that current laws and regulations prevent abuse and suffering, the chimps’ medical records show that confining and testing these sentient beings results in serious and lasting damage.
In 2011, we know that chimpanzees have unique personalities, relationships, and emotions similar to humans. We also know that the tens of millions of dollars invested into invasive research with chimpanzees have yielded few to no meaningful results for human health.
Please help the United States come to an improved place in our scientific research and ethical standing by recommending that chimpanzees in labs deserve permanent retirement and sanctuary care.
Sincerely,
| |
|
Today, approximately 30 million animals in U.S. labs are subject to a wide variety of tests and procedures, many of these experiments are incredibly painful and cruel.
Most animals used in research are killed when their “usefulness” to the lab comes to an end. In fact chimpanzees are the only species where euthanasia for lab convenience is not allowed.
Sanctuaries that provide excellent care for animals used in research cannot house the 30 million animals used in labs. To date, it is nearly unheard of for a lab to provide any monetary support for an animal in sanctuary, even though the animal may have diseases and/or health conditions that require intensive lifetime treatment.
Despite these terrible realities, APNM sees hope on the horizon.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has historically been the largest funder of animal research in the United States. The NIH Director, Dr. Francis Collins, is now advocating for a new type of research center in the U.S.
Read Director Collins’ paper or listen to his Director’s podcast, below we have excerpted some notable quotes:
- “The average length of time from target discovery to approval of a new drug currently averages ~13 years, the failure rate exceeds 95%, and the cost per successful drug exceeds $1 billion, after adjusting for all of the failures.”
- “The use of small and large animals to predict safety in humans is a long-standing but not always reliable practice in translational science.”
- “The use of animal models for therapeutic development and target validation is time consuming, costly, and may not accurately predict efficacy in humans.”
Do you want to see real change for animals who suffer in labs? Do you want the U.S. to stop spending our limited research dollars on cruel and frivolous testing on animals?
APNM sees a glimmer of hope for both people and animals in the IOM chimp study and in Director Collins’ vision for the future of the NIH. APNM’s involvement in these projects requires tremendous time and resources to demonstrate that our state-based non-profit is a stakeholder (as a reminder, the NIH budget last fiscal year was over $31 billion).
Will changing the practice of using animals in research be easy or quick? No. The number of organizations and individuals devoted to helping animals in labs is just one measurement of how intractable this issue can be.
But with your help, APNM has made huge progress for the APF chimps and we know we can help other animals suffering in labs.
Contact APNM today to share your views about animal research, and make a commitment with us to see systemic change for animals languishing in labs!
Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct.
Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit. The roots of cruelty, therefore, are not so much strong as widespread.
But the time must come when inhumanity protected by custom and thoughtlessness will succumb before humanity championed by thought.
Let us work that this time may come.
-Albert Schweitzer
|
|
|
