In Defense of Animals Assists in Rescue of 55 Monkeys From New Jersey

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Published: July 15, 2010

In Defense of Animals Assists in Rescue of 55 Monkeys From New Jersey

In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection and rescue organization, along with several other groups has rescued 118 beagles and 55 long-tailed macaque monkeys from AniClin, an insolvent toxicology laboratory in Oxford, New Jersey. The beagles were transported from the lab to shelters two weeks ago. Today, IDA will take the monkeys to their new homes at four primate sanctuaries in Oklahoma and Texas. IDA assisted in facilitating the final agreements and coordinated their 1,700-mile journey, which will utilize a specialized animal transport service.

"Rescuing these young macaques from a miserable lifetime locked in a lab furthers In Defense of Animals' mission in protecting the rights, welfare and habitat of animals," said IDA president Scotlund Haisley. "These young monkeys would have been subjected to decades behind bars in cramped stainless steel cages, forced to endure painful toxicology tests. Now they will have a life filled with fresh air, friends, and freedom from harm."

AnaClin had been repeatedly cited by the USDA for Animal Welfare Act violations and had a license to sell animals. If not for today's rescue, these monkeys could very well have ended up in other labs that routinely perform extremely invasive or terminal experiments on long-tailed macaques. Published articles from 2010 describe experimentation ranging from brain lesions, invasive brain studies of auditory, motor and visual cortex, Ebola virus, stroke, plague and drug-induced seizures. These intelligent, social nonhuman primates suffer when imprisoned for decades in stark lab environments. Monkeys often display clinical signs of depression and abnormal behavior including hair pulling, stereotypic circling and pacing, and even self mutilation.

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The Texas sanctuaries Born Free USA, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Primarily Primates, and the Oklahoma sanctuary Mindy's Memory will receive the monkeys and begin introducing them to one another in their new homes.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20100715161148zzzz.nb/topstory.html

Transporting the monkeys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gn6XnlF45Y