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Thousands petition for release of 'CU 34
By DAVID CRENNEN Colorado Daily Staff
June 3, 2004
included front page photoFive individuals calmly walked into the office of CU President Elizabeth Hoffman Wednesday morning and delivered an ultimatum: release the CU 34 immediately.
The focus of the demand? Thirty-four bonnet macaque monkeys currently in custody at CU's Health and Sciences Center (UCHSC) campus in Aurora.
"All they've ever known is experimentation and fear," said activist Rita L. Anderson shortly before walking in and asking to see Hoffman, who was out of town at the annual CU budget retreat in Aspen, Colo.
Anderson is the director of the Committee for Research Accountability, a project of the animal rights group "In Defense of Animals," and the lead organizer in charge of the campaign to free the monkeys.
Anderson showed up at the president's office on the CU-Boulder campus Wednesday joined by an entourage consisting of CU English professor Ed Rivers; Matt Bear, the executive director of the National Endowment for Animals; Sarah Florez, director of the CU Partnership for Animal Welfare and Jane Harper, a Fairview High School student and member of the Jane Goodall "Roots and Shoots Program," which advocates for primates' rights and issues surrounding their natural habitats.
The five handed a parcel of approximately 3,100 signatures calling for the release of the monkeys to Hoffman's assistant Joann Floyd.
Anderson previously handed in to Hoffman's office nearly 1,600 other signatures on April 17, the same day she held a vigil to protest alleged mistreatment of the monkeys.
The signatures were gathered not only from CU constituents, but nine other countries around the world. The group said one signatory was Hoffman's own hairstylist.
"Our goal is to get 10,000 (signatures)," said Anderson.
Along with the petition, Anderson delivered a letter explaining her position and goals.
"The humane and ethical decision would be for CU to release the monkeys to the sanctuary where they can live their remaining years in peace, free from fear and pain - so they can experience such simple pleasure as fresh air, sunshine and green grass -many for the first time," she wrote.
UCHSC researcher Dr. Mark Laudenslager used the macaques in behavioral experiments, in particular maternal separation studies, for 17 years before ending his research in October 2003.
"The group (of monkeys) is in a protocol that has ended for the time being," said Sarah Ellis, spokeswoman for UCHSC.
Ellis did not specify when future "protocols" might commence.
Anderson, however, is concerned about the lack of communication from both the President's office and the department researching the monkeys themselves.
She said she has attempted to "open a dialogue" with the researchers in charge of the monkeys as well as with Hoffman since October, 2003, though none have returned her calls.
Dr. James Stevens, an interim veterinarian at UCHSC, said he has spoken with Anderson on numerous occasions, but recently informed her that no amount of effort would bring about a meeting with Vice-Chancellor for Research Dr. John Sladek because "she (Anderson) caused the university problems."
"These are sentient beings; these are feeling beings - beings with emotions," Anderson said. "To keep them locked in that basement cage is unethical, especially added to that the $7 million (for research) that many people consider completely wasted."
According to Ellis, the monkeys are kept together in social groups that have their own rooms. She added that the operation is overseen by a number of organizations, including a division of the United States Division of Agriculture, and has received accolades from the American Association for the Care of Laboratory Animals.