Dr. Thomas J. Rowell, Director
New Iberia Primate Center
4401 West Admiral Doyle Drive
New Iberia, LA 70560
ph: 337-482-0225, fax: 337-373-0057
email: tjr7173@louisiana.edu
louisiana.edu/Research/NIRC

Dear

I am confused as to why chimpanzees still serve as HIV disease models for humans at your research facility. Primate studies clearly represent a dead end for HIV prevention, vaccines or drugs relevant to humans. I would greatly appreciate detailed information about the individuals confined at your laboratory and the conditions of their environment.

Isolation of the AIDS virus and the mechanism through which it is transmitted have already been established in studies that did not involve animals. A chimpanzee’s immune system encounters the virus in a different manner than a human’s immune network. As research models, these animals don’t contract AIDS or develop its clinical symptoms.

They do, however, endure seclusion in sterile biocontainment facilities, unable to navigate the treetops or trail a companion into the undergrowth. These outgoing creatures are drafted into lives of solitude. At best, they subsist with minimal social interaction as caged specimens inside sunless rooms.

Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall claims that primates sustain close family ties and experience joy, grief, fear and hope. To the researchers who reinvent them to suffer physical and psychological anguish — their worth is measured in terms of the data drawn from their blood.

I am dismayed that your primate experiments squander tax dollars, time and energy when viable alternative technologies combined with epidemiological and clinical human trials produce results more applicable to human health.

I urge you to replace antiquated animal tests with humane research tools. In the meantime, I look forward to your response to my inquiry regarding the chimpanzees' names, cage sizes, bedding provisions, enrichment items and tasks, and socialization methods. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

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Dr. Thomas J. Rowell, Director New Iberia Primate Center 4401 West Admiral Doyle Drive New Iberia, LA 70560 ph: 337-482-0225, fax: 337-373-0057 email: tjr7173@louisiana.edu louisiana.edu/Research/NIRC Dr. Stuart Zola, Director Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center 954 Gatewood Road Atlanta, GA 30322 ph: 404-727-7707 email: s.zola@emory.edu www.cc.emory.edu/WHSC/YERKES Dr. Michale Keeling, Director MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas Department of Veterinary Sciences Science Park, Rt. 2 Box 151-B1 Bastrop, TX 78602 Dr. John VandenBerg, Director Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research P.O. Box 760549 San Antonio, TX 78245-0549

Dr. Suzette Tardif, Associate Director ph: 210-258-9885, fax: 210-258-9883 email: stardif@icarus.sfbr.org www.srprc.org Dr. Thomas Rice Manager, Behavioral Enrichment Dept. The Coulston Foundation 1300 Lavelle Road Alamogordo, NM 88310 email: thomasrice@hotmail.com www.coulston.org Dr. Joseph M. Erwin BIOQUAL, Inc. Division of Neurobiology, Behavior, Genetics 9600 Medical Center Drive, Suite 200 Rockville, MD 20850-3336 ph: 301-251-0633, fax: 301-251-1260 email: joemerwin@aol.com, jerwin@nb.net

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