Press Release

Nepal Monkey Lab Plans Raise International Protests
Close to 1200 people from 21 nations have signed a petition calling on Nepal to cancel its plans to establish laboratories using rhesus monkeys and to export monkeys.

Signers came from a variety of nations: India, Nepal, Singapore, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, China, New Zealand, Panama, Jordan, UAE, Israel, Colombia, Spain, and Japan.

Animal Nepal and Wildlife Watch Group have joined hands with the world's leading animal welfare agencies and biologists to oppose the breeding and exporting of Nepalese monkeys for biomedical research in America. The monkeys are to go to Washington and Texas where potentially dangerous and/or lethal experiments will be carried out on them. Two American agencies, the Washington National Primate Center (WNPC) and Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR), and their Nepalese counterparts received government permission to catch, breed and export Nepalese rhesus monkeys for this purpose.

The campaigners in their petiton outline that monkeys are considered sacred and are an important part of Nepal's heritage for a number of reasons. They say Nepal will not deserve credit for providing monkeys for biomedical research by maintaining outdated, unreliable, and unethical methods for conducting studies. Most countries now maintain a complete ban on great ape experimentation. India for instance, after realising that its rhesus monkeys were used for gruesome radiation experiments in the US, banned all primate exports in 1977.

American centers try to find loopholes in the world's legal animal rights provisions, and in Nepal (one of the few countries in the world still largely without such legislation) it has found ideal working ground.

The campaigners strongly request the Nepalese government to demonstrate its commitment to enlightened and ethical research practices by halting (breeding facilities for) biomedical research on Nepalese monkeys and implement legislation to prevent such developments from reoccurring.

For more information:

Wildlife Watch Group
Mangal Man Shakya
C/O WWG House, Jwagal, Kopundol – 10, Lalitpur
E-mail: wwg@citesnepal.org
Phone: +977-1-5550452, 5524188, 5011010, 5553870
Fax: +977-1-5011006

Animal Nepal

Jiggy Gaton

Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur

E-mail: animalnepal@hotmail.com

Phone: ++ 977 - 98510-44033

Rhino poacher should not be freed

Kathmandu, Sept 22

Wildlife Watch Group is seriously attentive towards the decision made by cabinet, Government of Nepal to free nine poachers who were involved in killing rhinoceros and selling its horn. The cabinet of Government of Nepal had made decision on 28 th August 2006 to free the poachers waiving their remaining term of sentences on the occasion of people's sovereignty day.

It is a matter of serious objection to waive the remaining term of sentences of the inmates involved in such critical case of trading of rhino horn even without informing Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and other concerned organizations in the present situation of extinction of rhinoceros.

The Wildlife Watch Group has come to a conclusion that the government might have made such decision in pressure of gangs who take advantage of the present transitional period of the country. This kind of activities of the Government to free such inmates serially enhances the mentality of the illegal traders as well as encourages poachers. Can government or concerned officials guarantee that the freed prisoners will not involve in such activities in future? Are the officials who recommended waiving the due sentences are ready to endure the punishment? If not, then they should halt making such decision.

Therefore the Watch Group stipulates the government to withdraw the decision immediately and urge not to make such decision in future which arouses the criminal mentality.