P-WAC, Member of Coalition to Save Abandoned Chimpanzees
P-WAC is now a Member of the Coalition to Save the Abandoned Chimpanzees in Liberia.
We are pleased to announce our action along with 45 other primates conservation organizations to save the abandoned chimpanzees in Liberia.
This is an emergency situation: In Liberia, chimpanzees have been abandoned. They are now dying of starvation.
Remember:
A few days ago, we shared this important information with you: the New York Blood Center or “NYBC” (keep this name in mind), an American research lab, who was using chimpanzees for experimental tests (Ebola, AIDS…) was leaving Liberia. In the process, it went back on it’s previous promise and decided to stop funding the care of these chimpanzees.
This situation is really disgusting, and upsetting.
Some of these laboratory chimpanzees were born in the wild and were taken from their natural environment. For years, they have been used as tools in medical research and experimentation. After helping human communities (in other words: us!!!) through being subjected to vaccine and diseases trials, they are now left on their own, abandoned, to die of starvation.
The NYBC owns them !
Nearby villagers have continued, by their own means, to feed and care for these chimpanzees. But it’s obvious, despite the villagers’ generosity and kindness, it is the NYBC’s responsibility to fund the center and provide care for these chimps.
Let’s remember that the NYBC for decades has made millions of dollars through the experimental use of chimpanzees (our closest relatives!) in the laboratory!
In other words, NYBC – an organization with hundreds of millions in assets and with rapidly increasing revenue over the last two years – exploited these chimpanzees for decades for their own profits and has now abandoned them, deciding to stop paying the salaries of their local caregivers.
Institutions such as The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International, alarmed and concerned by the actions of the NYBC, launched a campaign against NYBC, as well as a fundraising drive to take care of the needs of the chimpanzees and provide the villagers the funds they need so the chimps won’t suffer dehydration and starvation… which would have been the case without the intervention of the villagers and humane organizations mentioned above.
The animal protection community and the primates conservation community have stepped in, together, to change the situation as soon as possible. Jane Goodall is also engaged in this coalition. But, despite their efforts and support of Jane Goodall, the NYBC is still silent and sticking to its decision to abandon the chimps.
Unable to accept this situation, P-WAC has decided to join the coalition in order to help spread the message of hope and to call for aide. The coalition cannot accept this situation and is waiting for a response from the NYBC.
The aims of this coalition are :
– to urge New York Blood Center to reinstate funding for the chimpanzees immediately,
– to urge NYBC to discuss a long-term solution with animal protection and chimpanzee experts to ensure appropriate care for these animals who have been through so much.
– to ask the main NYBC sponsor, MetLife, to reevaluate their relationship with NYBC.
Let’s not forget, some, if not most, of these lab chimpanzees were taken from the wild!
What can you do?
Sign and share these petitions:
First petition: https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?page=UserAction&id=6921&s_src=sh_fbtextD20921&fb_ref=Default
Here are some articles relating this horrible situation:
- New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/science/chimpanzees-endangered-fish-and-wildlife-service.html
- TIME: http://time.com/3919270/chimpanzee-endangered-species/
Please, share this information as much as you can and help bring about this change. Let’s work together to bring about a better future for chimpanzees. Let’s not wait until someone else acts for us.
For great apes conservation,
For animal rights,
Against animal cruelty,
the P-WAC team