“Show cause” order issued on behalf of Hercules & Leo NEW YORK, N.Y.–– Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe late on April 20, 2015 ordered Stony Brook University to show cause why two chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, should not be released under a writ of habeas corpus from confinement for biomedical research. “Under the law […]
Forced abortions raise alarm over Florida lab monkey breeders
“Not In My Back Yard” dispute becomes national debate LaBELLE, Florida––A long-running “Not In My Back Yard” dispute over the location of a breeding facility in Hendry County, Florida that supplies monkeys to laboratories has exploded into a nationally visible debate over how monkeys are used in labs. Which is what many of the opponents […]
CDC safety scandals & the legacy of former star scientist Charles Rupprecht
“Leadership commitment toward safety has been inconsistent and insufficient at multiple levels” ATLANTA––The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention during the third week of March 2015 quietly posted a highly critical report of itself by an outside panel of biosecurity and safety experts. The CDC at the same time issued a public statement accepting […]
Anti-Vaxxers and the pit bull advocacy movement
by Barbara Kay & Merritt Clifton Reasonable people tend to overestimate the role that reason plays in history and in their own culture, and also tend to overestimate the power reason has to combat the theories, belief systems and emotions that drive people to action––or inaction ––much of the time. Unreasonable theories, belief systems and […]
PETA claims win against cat studies at UW-Madison, but maternal deprivation experiments continue
Long-festering issue helped to spark the rise of the animal rights movement MADISON, Wisconsin––People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on January 23, 2015 declared victory in a long-running campaign against cat experiments at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. That returns the focus of protest against animal research at UW-Madison to the resumption of […]
Theo Colborn, 87, identified chemical effects on animal & human health
by Elizabeth Grossman Theo Colborn, 87, died on December 14, 2014. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Theodora Emily Decker Colborn was a life-long bird-watcher who began her fascination with the natural world early. I spent several days interviewing her in December 2013 at her home in Paonia, Colorado. As we talked on a sub-zero morning, with huge […]
Igor, 58, ex-laboratory gibbon
Igor, 58, a male gibbon who had resided at the International Primate Protection League sanctuary in Summerville, South Carolina since 1987, was euthanized on October 13, 2014, three days after suffering a stroke that left his right side paralyzed and not responding to treatment. “Igor could not swing or climb,” IPPL founder Shirley McGreal told […]
Florida lab investigated for neglect that killed a monkey
Water was withheld from monkeys overnight TAMPA, PORTLAND, ST. LOUIS––The University of South Florida police department has reportedly opened an investigation into whether criminal acts were committed when water was withheld from monkeys overnight in April 2013 and three times in December 2013. “At least one primate died, and […]
NIH discontinues funding studies on “random source” dogs
Quit funding random source cat studies in 2012 WASHINGTON D.C.––The National Institutes of Health on October 1, 2014 discontinued funding experiments using dogs obtained from “random sources,” meaning pounds, other animal shelters, and bunchers commonly called “Class B dealers.” The NIH cessation of funding for research “is in response to a 2009 National Academy of […]
Field Mortalities in Wildlife Research: It’s Time for a Conversation
Preface by Merritt Clifton Jon Geller, DVM, whose guest column “Field Mortalities in Wildlife Research: It’s Time for a Conversation” appears below, is scarcely the first to call into question the ethics of wildlife captures for research purposes. While Geller’s critique focuses on capture techniques, why animals are captured and what happens to them afterward […]