Group Urges Senators and Representatives to Support Bill to Retire Hundreds of Chimpanzees From U.S. Laboratories
For
Immediate Release:
April
19, 2012
Contact:
Kristin
Richards 202-483-7382
Washington — In advance of the April 24 U.S. Senate hearing being held by the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPWC) on the historic Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act—a bill that would ban invasive experiments on chimpanzees, retire more than 600 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries, and save taxpayers millions of dollars a year—PETA has sent members of Congress, including the 16 EPWC members, a care package that the group hopes will put a face on the issue: a print of a painting accompanied by a photo of and a letter about the artist—a chimpanzee named Jamie, who was rescued from a laboratory.
As the letters explain, 34-year-old Jamie spent more than 20 years alone in a cage in the windowless basement of a Pennsylvania laboratory, where she was used in hepatitis experiments. She—along with six other chimpanzees from the same laboratory—was rescued with PETA's help by the Cle Elum, Wash.–based Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2008. Jamie now spends her days relaxing and playing outdoors with her friends and expressing herself through art, including pen drawings and finger paintings.
"Every chimpanzee currently in a laboratory deserves what Jamie was given—freedom from fear and the opportunity to rest in the sunlight, enjoy companionship, and even express themselves through art," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "Congress can act now to drastically improve the lives of the hundreds of federally owned chimpanzees who continue to suffer in U.S. laboratories."
PETA's effort coincides with World Week for Animals in Laboratories, during which the group will urge its supporters to contact their legislators about the great ape bill, which is backed by more than 160 senators and representatives. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that still conducts invasive experiments on chimpanzees. In December 2011, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that experiments on chimpanzees are not needed to advance human health.
For more information, including photos of Jamie's artwork and PETA's letter to members of Congress, please visit PETA.org.