Help stop the exploitation of Indonesia’s primates

ACTION ALERT

Help stop the exploitation of Indonesia’s primates

An investigation by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) has revealed a shocking trade in monkeys from Indonesia for the international research industry. The findings raise serious questions about Indonesia’s adherence to international animal welfare guidelines, breaches in its own laws and failures to comply with CITES (the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) regulations.
The investigation further revealed the appalling and cruel fate that awaits many of these monkeys at their final destination - a research laboratory. NEAVS joins BUAV in a call to CITES to suspend Indonesia and carry out its own investigation. This call comes as Indonesia announces a staggering three-fold increase (15,100) in the number of wild monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) allowed to be trapped in 2009 and exported into research.

The U.S. is one of the largest importers of monkeys for research. In addition to the profound humane and ethical considerations regarding their use in research, the U.S. government needs to take seriously the macaques’ protected status and the effect that this cruel and prolific trade is having on them.

ACT NOW
1. Write to the President of Indonesia. Ask him to place an immediate ban on the capture, breeding and export of long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques for research.
Dr. H. Susilo Bambang YudhoyonoPresident of the Republic of IndonesiaIstana NegaraJl. Medan Merdeka UtaraJakarta Pusat 10010IndonesiaEmail: presiden@ri.go.id
2. Write to the U.S. Indonesian Embassy. Ask the government of Indonesia to place an immediate ban on the capture, breeding and export of long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques for research.
Embassy of Indonesia 2020 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036, USA
Or use the online contact form.
(Click here for information on Indonesian Embassies in other countries.)
3. Write to the CITES Secretariat. Ask CITES to investigate the Indonesian primate trade and suspend Indonesia's membership pending the outcome of their investigation.
CITES SecretariatInternational Environment House11 Chemin des AnémonesCH-1219 Châtelaine, GenevaSwitzerland
Photo and video credits: BUAV

Project R&R Action Alert

Support Laura's run and help pass GAPA!

Thank you to Laura H., GAPA volunteer, who will be running the St. Louis, MO half marathon this Sunday, April 19th to raise money and awareness for NEAVS/Project R&R!
Show your support for Laura’s efforts by donating $1 for every mile – 13 mile total run. Your dollars will support our work and raise awareness for the Great Ape Protection Act. Please visit Laura’s page to pledge now. Laura will be taking Project R&R information postcards and wearing a Project R&R tee shirt for the run to help spread the word.

We’ll be cheering for her every step of the way!

Chimp House Coo-ka-mungas

Normally the chimp house is a pretty quiet place. Usually on a bright, sunny winter day the only sounds you will hear are the chirping of a few wild birds, the occasional chimp call, and some snoring. But every once in a while someone will stir up a ruckus and before you know it everyone gets involved and it suddenly becomes the noisiest place on earth!

This is the story of one of those quiet days where all of a sudden all hell broke loose.

It seems to have all started with Toby. Toby has fallen crazy in love with Maya and he has taken to showing her how strong and brave he can be. Spock has a tendency to get jealous when he sees Maya attracting the affections of someone else so he took objection to Toby’s display and started hooting and hollering. Then for some reason he decided to make goo-goo eyes at Chance through the bars. Well! Chance got all upset and started taking it out on poor Rachel and the two of them started chasing each other around, screaming with their lips curled back and slapping each other and thrashing everything in their path. Meanwhile up on the second floor Jethro, Yoko, Regis and Binky got into the act and started rattling the bars and hollering and bashing things around. Not wanting to be left out Petra, Pepper and Sue Ellen started screeching at the top of their lungs too.

The noise was so ear-piercing that I had to stick my fingers in my ears and even then I was afraid that my hearing would be damaged by the shear number of decibels being generated by everybody. Everybody that is…with the exception of Tom.

Tom just sat contentedly on an elevated platform, facing the kitchen, quietly chowing down on iceberg lettuce, green onions and red delicious apples. It was as if he was totally oblivious to all the craziness that was going on. As he happily munched on his lettuce the screaming continued and the bashing and thrashing reached new crescendos. Up on the second floor five chimps were now facing the kitchen holding onto the caging, swinging from side to side – each to a different rhythm, while someone I couldn’t see banged out a stream of percussion from somewhere out back. The whole scene was surreal and I wondered how long it would go on.

While Chance and Rachel continued to streak back & forth through the tunnels screaming and Spock was screeching and Maya was pounding on the ceiling with all her might and everyone else was making as much noise as they possibly could, my buddy Tom just continued to eat happily like nothing was happening.

And just as I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, just as I thought my eardrums were going to burst I noticed that Tom was chewing and swallowing his last red delicious apple. And after swallowing that last bite, slowly the look on Tommy’s face changed – it was almost as if he suddenly became aware of all the noise going on. With a look of total disgust Tommy started to holler. Well he hollered louder than everyone else and you could see how angry and annoyed he was. He yelled with purpose and he definitely made sure everyone heard him!

When Tommy stopped yelling the entire chimp house went silent. I looked around from enclosure to enclosure and all I could see were bewildered looks on everyone’s face. You could hear a pin drop! One by one, each chimp went back to quietly doing whatever it was they were doing before the craziness started. Tommy came down and took a few more apples from a trolley and went back to happily munching away on his favourites. Eventually the birds started chirping again and a little while later my ears were soothed by gentle snoring coming from here and there around the chimp house.

You know, seeing something like that really makes me wonder. If Tom hadn’t been so violently torn away from his family and his natural habitat…if Tom had been left to live wild and free as he should have been, would Tom have grown to be an alpha male in his group? What did he holler out that made everyone instantly calm down like that? Was it a coincidence that he yelled out and everyone stopped? Was it something he “said” that made everyone interrupt their own screeching to stop and listen? Was it a show of respect to Tommy as an elder in the group?

I will never know….but it sure gives me something to ponder about.

by:Kathleen Asselin - Fauna Volunteer

Binky's B-Day/L'anniversaire de Binky

It is Binkys' 20th Birthday today; why not adopt him as a gift for someone special!

Binky is a very sweet and sensitive guy. Not that anyone would know from just meeting him a couple of times. He is a real guy; likes to look and act all tough around his friends and the girls, but underneath he is unsure of himself and seeks a lot of attention. He loves to play chase and makes the best raspberry sound when he wants something special. He also likes to throw objects if you choose to try and act as if you can not hear him!

C'est l'anniversaire de Binkyil a 20 ans. Pourquoi ne pas l'adopter et en faire cadeau à une personne qui vous est chère?

Binky est un garçon très gentil et sensible. Personne ne pourrait s'en apercevoir après seulement quelques rencontres. C'est un vrai mâle; il aime montrer et agir comme un dur autour de ses amis et les filles mais à l'intérieur il manque de confiance et demande beaucoup d'attention. Il adore jouer à se pourchasser et il fait les meilleurs "bruits de pet" quand il veut quelque chose de particulier. Il aime aussi vous tirer des objets si vous choisissez de feindre de l'entendre!

Serious Gorilla Repair/Opération du gorille

Anyone that has been reading our blog regularly knows that we have toy gorillas that are quite important to Rachel and most recently to Regis. Well, here is quite a funny story. Last week I found Regies baby gorilla (that he stole from Rachel) all full of poop and seriously ripped up, so we decided to fix him up, clean him up, and return him to his rightful owner. We were feeling a little tired and silly that day so here is what came of it.

Tous ceux qui lisent régulièrement notre blog savent que nous avons des gorilles de peluches qui sont d'une importance capitale pour Rachel et tout récemment de Regis. Et bien, nous avons une histoire cocasse à ce sujet. La semaine dernière j'ai trouvé le bébé gorille de Regis (qu'il a volé de Rachel) couvert d'excréments et sérieusement déchiré. Nous avons décidé de le remettre en ordre, le nettoyer et le retourner à son propriétaire. Nous étions tous un peu fatigués et ridicules cette journée-là alors voici quelques images.

After all the cleaning and fixing Regis took one smell; dropped it on floor and took off never to look back. The following day it was propped up on a window ledge and he would not even get near it. I was able to get it back and every time I showed it to Regis he would jump back and let out little chimp whimpers it was so sad. I could not figure out what was scaring him. Then I showed Jethro and he jumped back and would not look at it either? The happy news is that Rachel was extremely thankful that I had returned the other one of her babies. Now Regis has found a little stuffed duck to call his own…

Suite à tous ces efforts, Regis le sentit une fois, le laissa tomber et partit en trombe sans jamais se retourner. Le jour suivant, on le mis sur le bord de la fenêtre et Regis ne s'en approcha même pas. J'ai réussi à le reprendre et chaque fois que je le montrais à Regis il faisait un bond vers l'arrière en laissant des petits pleurnichements de chimpanzé; c'était vraiment triste. Je ne pouvais comprendre ce qui l'effrayait tant. Par la suite je l'ai montré à Jethro et il fit également un bond vers l'arrière et refusait de le regarder! La bonne nouvelle est que Rachel était extrêmement reconnaissante que je lui ai ramener son autre bébé. Depuis ce temps, Regis a trouvé un petit canard de peluche...

Fauna Volunteer Annie Tremblay in the News/Bénévole de Fauna Annie Tremblay aux nouvelles

Annie Tremblay a retrouvé la joie de vivre auprès des animaux. (Photo - Mélissa Guillemette)
Quatre pattes et un sourire
Mélissa Guillemette
Le Reflet - 4 avril 2009
Actualité > Communautaire
DELSON - Atteinte de fibromyalgie depuis huit ans, une citoyenne de Delson a trouvé une nouvelle façon de mordre dans la vie. Entourée de bêtes en tous genres, Annie Tremblay consacre son temps au bien-être des animaux abusés, délaissés et violentés.
«Je me sens enfin utile, laisse tomber la biologiste de 42 ans. Je ne peux plus imaginer ma vie sans animaux. C’est impensable.»
Souffrant d'un mal qui lui cause des douleurs musculaires et de l’insomnie chroniques depuis 2001, l’ancienne professeure au secondaire avait perdu son entrain. «Je suis retraitée de mon emploi d’enseignante, car la maladie m’empêche de travailler, dit-elle. Je n’arrivais plus à voir mon rôle dans la société, moi qui m’étais toujours beaucoup impliquée à l’école où je travaillais.»
Annie Tremblay s’était mise au tricot, à la couture et à la peinture, mais ne se sentait pas comblée.
Le bonheur est dans le bénévolat
Avec le temps, elle s’est mise à garder les animaux de ses voisins en leur absence et le déclic s’est fait il y a un an. «J’ai commencé à être bénévole dans un hôpital vétérinaire avec une amie, raconte-t-elle en flattant l’une des quatre chiennes qui vivent en ce moment avec elle et ses six chats. J’ai ensuite eu envie de faire du bénévolat dans un refuge.»
Après une expérience bénévole à la Société pour la prévention de la cruauté envers les animaux (SPCA) Montérégie, la mère de deux adolescents s’est retrouvée à la Fondation Fauna, à Carignan, où elle se rend deux jours par semaine. Singes, lamas, chevaux, coqs et autres bêtes abusés y vivent dans des conditions respectueuses. «Je vais œuvrer là longtemps, car j’y suis très bien, assure-t-elle. J’ai dit aux propriétaires que je pouvais faire n’importe quoi, de la paperasse au travail manuel, en autant que ça profite aux animaux.» Une offre qu’ils n’ont pas refusée.
Elle a ainsi rencontré, entre autres, Sue-Ellen, une femelle chimpanzé de 40 ans à qui des chercheurs ont donné le VIH/sida et qui a subi 29 biopsies du foie en laboratoire, et un cheval qui a été victime d’un enragé au volant. «La cause m’intéresse parce que je ne vois pas de quel droit les humains se permettent d’utiliser ou de maltraiter les animaux, avance la femme. Ces êtres ont des sentiments.»
Toc, toc, toc!
La bénévole cogne aux portes des entreprises de la région, car elle est à la recherche de financement pour soutenir l’organisme sans but lucratif. Les dons en argent ou en matériel (allant des crayons de cire aux couvertures) font le bonheur des animaux.
«Par exemple, la fondation fait des activités d’enrichissement avec les chimpanzés toutes les semaines pour les stimuler, raconte Annie Tremblay. On leur prépare des boîtes-cadeaux qu’on emballe plusieurs fois pour qu’ils aient du plaisir à les déballer. Binky [un chimpanzé qui a été anesthésié 136 fois en huit ans] reçoit toujours des brosses à dents, parce qu’il trippe là-dessus!»
La biologiste a certainement retrouvé sa vitalité puisque les idées ne lui manquent pas pour amasser des fonds. À commencer par l’organisation d’un lave-o-chien dans un parc de la région au printemps. «Ça va être génial!», prévoit-elle.
Pour plus d’information : fondationfauna.org. n

Movement's Annual Conference

You're Invited to Our Movement's Annual Conference

We are pleased to invite you to take part in the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference, our movement's largest and oldest annual gathering.

The Conference will be held on July 16-20th at the Westin LAX Hotel near Los Angeles Airport. This venue offers $95 rooms, accommodations for dogs, cruelty-free bedding and personal care products, $6 parking, free internet access, magnificent meeting and exhibit space, vegan cuisine, and free airport shuttle. The program will focus on effective tactics to promote animal rights and veganism, to stop federal repression of animal activism, and to engage other social justice movements. We will have eyewitness accounts of the whale wars, California's Prop 2 initiative, and other high-profile campaigns.

We are maintaining the traditional five-track structure (problems/issues, organizing, remedies, raps/reports, and videos). Saturday night will feature the traditional Awards Banquet. Monday following the conference will offer intensive seminars, lobbying, and demonstrations planned by participating groups. To register, visit our Registration page or call us at 888-327-6872. Or send a check to FARM/AR2009, 10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817.

To book a discounted room, visit our Lodging page or call Westin reservations at 800-228-3000 or 301-216-5858 and mention Animal Rights 2009.Contact our registrar for work scholarships and low-income discounts and housing.

Getting ready for Easter/Pâques

Kathleen and Annie getting enrichment ready for Easter!

Kathleen et Annie préparant les activités d'enrichissement pour Pâques!

Chimp House Video/Vidéo dans la Maison des chimpanzés

Here are some images, not great, but hey filming in the chimp house is not easy!
Sue Ellen enjoying her scallop potatoes and Regis enjoying his peanut butter sandwiches!

Voici quelques images, un peu sombres, mais c'est tellement difficile de prendre des photos dans la maison des chimpanzés! Voici Sue Ellen qui aime les pommes de terre et Regis qui se délecte des tartines au beurre d'arachides.



Rachel absolutely wanted the pablum I prepared for Regis, here she is enjoying it!
Rachel voulait absolument du Pablum que je prépare pour Regis et la voici se régalant!




Binky having a good old time sipping his smoothie with a straw
Binky heureux de siroter son smoothie avec une paille

In one of our newer cages there is a drain for cleaning that for some reason scares Binky, Petra and Yoko , we sometimes put a carpet over it but as you can see they know it's there, move the carpet stare and scream. Other times they just ignore it as if it was never a problem? Interesting enrichment!

You can hear Petra and Binky alarm barking, which is what they do to let everyone know something is up!

Dans l'une de nos cages les plus récentes se trouve un drain pour le nettoyage qui pour une raison qui nous échappe effraie Binky, Petra et Yoko. Certains moments nous le recouvrons d'un tapis mais comme vous pouvez le constater ils savent qu'il est là, enlèvent la carpette, observent et hurlent. À d'autres moments, ils l'ignorent totalement comme si ce n'était jamais un problème? Curieux enrichissement!

Vous pouvez entendre le cri d'alarme de Petra et Binky qui annonce à tous que quelque chose ne va pas!

Special Needs/Besoins particuliers

Here are a few items that the Fauna Chimpanzees love/need and go through quite quickly, so feel free to send them some of their favorite items.

Voici une liste d'articles que les chimpanzés de la Fondation Fauna aiment ou ont besoin. Les réserves s'épuisent rapidement alors si vous souhaitez faire des actions concrètes, vous pouvez leur faire parvenir des choses qu'ils aiment.

Some Chimpanzees like Spock and Maya often have a recurring cough from the damp environment they lived in at the zoo and need cough syrup. And Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen are always welcome.
Certains chimpanzés comme Spock et Maya ont une toux périodique causé par l'environnement humide du zoo leur résidence précédente et ils ont donc besoin de sirop pour la toux.

Rachel would be lost without her gorillas, so if you see any like these it would be great. They have to be exactly the same or it does not pass. We have tested the fact and no 0ther will do!

Rachel est totalement perdue sans ses gorilles alors si vous en croisez ce serait vraiment génial! Le hic c'est qu'ils doivent identiques aux siens sinon ça ne passe pas... Nous avons fait le test et aucun substitut possible!

Regis has diabetes and has his pabulum three times a day. It is a great source of protein and fiber for him. He loves the assorted flavors. He also needs Alpha Lipoic Acid to keep his immune system healthy and that is $26.00 per bottle.

Regis est diabétique et il consomme du Pablum trois fois par jour. C'est une excellente source de protéines et de fibres pour lui. Il adore également les saveurs assorties. Il a également besoin d'acide lipoide alpha afin de maintenir son système immunitaire en santé et les bouteilles se détaillent 26$ chacune.

Tea is served twice per day and is has always been a huge hit. Tetley or Salada is a favorite.

Le thé est servi deux fois par jour et ces moments de la journée sont toujours très populaire.

Gummy Vitamins/ Chewable vitamin C tablets are given out daily and are quite costly. Sophie our elderly capuchin needs her Vanilla/Chocolat Ensure twice daily.

Les vitamines croquables/ vitamines C sont distribuées tous les jours et ces frais sont assez dispendieux. Et Sophie notre petite capucine plus âgée doit se nourrir de supplément alimentaire Ensure à la vanille deux fois par jour.

Some other items that the chimps need on a regular basis are construction paper, used magazines (Binky and Toby love to flip through them), wrapping paper, necklaces, hair brushed, unbreakable mirrors. Now that Easter is on its way Easter items are also welcome.

D'autres articles que les chimpanzés ont besoin de façon quotidienne sont le papier de construction, des magazines usagés (Binky et Toby adore les feuilleter), du papier d'emballage, des colliers, des brosses à cheveux et des mirroirs incassables. Pâques arrive à grands pas et tout article relié à cette fête serait très apprécié.

Regis with a new toy/Regis et son nouveau jouet

This week Regis has had a good old time trying to steal Rachel's little babies. He got one of them and that was just fine with Rachel. He took the old one with one arm missing so no damage was done. However the following day Regis found a way of stealing the other one and that did not go over well. Rachel was livid and took off after Regis screaming and smacking, but to no avail, he would not give it up. Rachel was sitting on the bottom platform

It's hard to see, but it is just tucked away in his pelvic pouch!



Cette semaine Regis s'est amusé à essayer de dérober les bébés de Rachel. Il a réussit à en prendre un et Rachel n'a pas bronché. C'était le vieux avec un bras manquant alors ce n'était pas grave. Sauf que le lendemain Regis trouva une façon de prendre l'autre et le résultat fut différent. Rachel est devenue furieuse et pourchassa Regis en criant mais celui si ne lâchait pas prise. Rachel était assise sur la plateforme inférieure

GoodSearch for Fauna

What if Fauna earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up.

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favourite cause. Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favourite cause.

Since GoodSearch only accepts US charities, you won’t find us under Fauna Foundation, but you will find our US affiliate called Fauna Sanctuary (Champlain, NY). When you raise money for Fauna Sanctuary (Champlain, NY) you can rest assured that the money will come to us here at the Fauna Foundation.

Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ and be sure to enter Fauna Sanctuary (Champlain, NY) as the charity you want to support. You can easily make GoodSearch your homepage just by clicking on the link found on the GoodSearch main page and following the instructions. That way, every time you search the internet you will be generating money for Fauna!

Happy searching! And be sure to spread the word to your family and friends too!