Fwd: A Historic Day for Chimpanzees!

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From: PETA <newsmanager@peta.org>
Date: December 15, 2011 8:55:52 PM CST
Subject: A Historic Day for Chimpanzees!
Reply-To: PETA <newsmanager@peta.org>

Dear Cindy, It is a historic day for chimpanzees, and we need your help to keep up the momentum! After decades of advocating, organizing, demonstrating, and agitating in behalf of chimpanzees, we are closer than ever to ending experimentation on our closest living relatives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—which is the primary funder of chimpanzee experiments in the U.S.—has just announced that it is accepting the conclusion of a highly anticipated report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report, for which PETA provided testimony and other input, concludes that "most current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary." NIH director Dr. Francis Collins stated that effective immediately, NIH is suspending all new funding for experiments on chimpanzees! The agency will be convening a working group to carefully evaluate the experiments that are currently being conducted on chimpanzees, and it is expected that half of the chimpanzee experiments currently underway may be stopped! Moreover, while the working group deliberates, chimpanzees who are currently not being used in experiments or are in a state of unofficial retirement will not be used for experimentation. This includes the nearly 200 Alamogordo chimpanzees, whose sad fate compelled scientists, elected officials, and other public figures to take action. They are now safe! The IOM report—and NIH's response—is the first step toward ending all experimentation on these remarkable animals. However, it's more important than ever that you contact your legislator now  and ask him or her to support the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, which would outright ban all use of chimpanzees in laboratories and retire the more than 600 federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries. Thank you for your continued advocacy in behalf of all animals and for your support of PETA. Sincerely, Kathy Guillermo Vice President Laboratory Investigations Department People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Click to update your e-mail preferences or to unsubscribe. This e-mail was sent by PETA, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 USA.

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