R&R E-News

Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories

Winter 2009 - A New Year for GAPA

ORDER our new GAPA campaign pin to help spread the word!
GAPA to be reintroduced by lead sponsors
NEAVS/Project R&R is pleased to announce that Edolphus Towns (D-NY), David Reichert (R-WA), James Langevin (D-RI) and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), the original four lead sponsors who introduced the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA) in April 2008, will again be lead sponsors when the bill is reintroduced in '09. The bill could be reintroduced any time now that the 111th Congress is in session.
Project R&R, our thousands of volunteers (see story below), other national animal organizations and sanctuaries are all working hard to secure additional original GAPA sponsors and cosponsors. Project R&R needs your help to get your representative signed on.

To find out who your representative is: click here.
To watch the bill's progress: visit releasechimps.org's new GAPA page for updates on the bill and information on how you can help.

New Online Petition
NEAVS/Project R&R is asking all members to sign our petition to support GAPA (even if you have already signed it in 2008, you need to sign again for 2009). The petition - an invaluable way to get cosponsors on the bill - will go to all new and re-elected members of Congress. Please help us spread the word by signing the petition today. And, thank you for passing it on to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. Legislators need to hear from their constituents ASAP!

"Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo: Billy Jo (1969-2006) at Fauna with friend, Dr. Jane Goodall, who we are honored to have on our Advisory Board.

Join the fun - become a volunteer and HELP PASS GAPA
GAPA Volunteers are folks just like you who want to make a difference. They do so through their own creative ideas as well as with the help of our Volunteer eBuzz – a bimonthly eNews which brings them concrete, easy to do action items that help us achieve our shared goals. This grassroots national effort is bringing thousands of Americans on board in support of ending the use of chimpanzees and other great apes in research and is key to passing GAPA.
So what are you waiting for? Become a GAPA Volunteer now and help spread the word in your community. We'll send you our Volunteer eBuzz that includes three activities to help raise awareness and secure legislative support, as well as news about what other volunteers are up to across the U.S.

A sample of volunteer action items from our latest eBuzz:
Super Bowl for GAPA
Action: At your Super Bowl Party on Super Bowl Sunday (February 1st), place Project R&R materials out near your spread, along with a super-sized BOWL, with your contribution in it, to encourage people to donate to Project R&R. Email us for delicious vegan game day recipes the whole gang will enjoy!
Valentine Victory
Action: Show your love and help get elder chimpanzees – some of whom have been in labs for more than 40 years – into sanctuary. How? Order our Lab Postcards and have your friends and family sign, stamp, and send as many sets as they can (each set contains four postcards, one for each lab housing elders). Order today! And more: Go the extra step - leave sets of Lab Postcards at senior centers, assisted living locations, etc., and help educate seniors and gain elder support for elder chimpanzees!

President Obama's promise of government transparency applauded by NEAVS/Project R&R
On his first day in office, President Barack Obama issued a MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES (see exerpt below) in support of government transparency and accountability through openness in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from the public.
This welcomed news comes after years of long delays, partial fulfillment of requests and outright rejections of FOIA requests made by NEAVS/Project R&R to labs holding chimpanzees owned or supported by the federal government. Even simple requests for basic information such as the status and number of chimpanzees in a lab have been rejected.
Previous policy restricted, delayed or made it difficult to obtain information. Instead full disclosure was withheld from the public who has a right to know about government activities and spending, including detail related to the funding of research involving chimpanzees and other animals. Further, several laboratories denied NEAVS/Project R&R FOIA requests on the grounds that the facility was deemed a “private lab” and therefore had no public accountability, even though they received public money. These laboratories include: Yerkes National Primate Research Center, New Iberia Research Center, and Southwest National Primate Research Center. If these facilities receive U.S. tax dollars then they too need to be held accountable to the U.S. public for the use of public dollars.
We welcome President Obama's new direction and look forward to its positive effect on our ability to help animals.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.
The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public. Read more...

Pledge to go cruelty-free and help animals today.
Have a heart for animals this Valentine's Day!
Help make this Valentine’s Day a compassionate day for all animals. How? shop cruelty-free! With more than 200 cosmetic, personal care and household product companies carrying the Leaping Bunny logo, it is easier than ever to find a wide range of cruelty-free products. The Leaping Bunny, administered by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC, NEAVS is a founding member), is the only cruelty-free certification program that ensures that companies are free of new animal testing at every stage of product development, and ALSO that their ingredients - where most animal testing occurs - are also cruelty-free.
So the next time you are shopping for that aromatic soap or sassy red lipstick, make sure it carries the Leaping Bunny logo.

Contact us to receive a free Compassionate Shopping Guide.

Take the pledge to go cruelty-free. If you have already signed the pledge, thank you for passing in onto family and friends.

Social networking sites build our community...
Watch us on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Visit our MySpace page