PETA Offered Sanctuary Placement; Experimenter Killed Baboons Instead

For 40 years, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) has been impregnating baboons, shooting them full of various hormones, and then cutting out and killing the fetuses. Nothing from this horror show has ever helped humans, but that hasn’t stopped the experimenters—or the funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PETA is calling for an immediate end to these experiments as well as for the release of the primates to a sanctuary.

baboon parent and child

Our effort has just been boosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has taken a rare action that reveals just how sick this study is: The agency has revoked EVMS’ permission to subject the pregnant olive baboons to up to six separate major surgeries.

Under the federal Animal Welfare Act, it’s illegal for experimenters to subject an animal to more than one major, invasive surgery from which the animal is allowed to recover (called a “survival surgery”) without scientific justification and permission from federal authorities. But the USDA caught EVMS performing multiple surgeries on the baboons—all without permission. In 2021, the agency cited the school for it. EVMS then asked for an exemption so experimenters could continue to subject the baboons to “major survival surgeries” over and over again.

The USDA granted EVMS the exception, with two small, straightforward stipulations:

1. Surgeries must be performed in accordance with the experiment.
2. The school’s laboratory oversight committee must evaluate the animals’ well-being and the methods and procedures at least every six months.

The USDA, in another unusual move, also notified NIH of the school’s federal animal welfare violations, stating, “[T]he study in question raises concerns about animal health and well-being.”

EVMS proved that it could not or would not comply with the stipulations. The USDA again cited the school in May 2023, after a baboon named Jemma was administered a drug and was then found unresponsive in her cage—and EVMS staff failed to help her. The USDA then withdrew its approval for the school’s surgery exception. No additional major survival surgeries can be performed on the five female baboons who are part of the study, including Jemma.

The following month, NIH issued the school a rare warning, saying the agency wouldn’t pay for any expenses from “these non-compliant activities.”

In EVMS laboratories, intelligent and sensitive baboons are confined to small, barren steel cages, where they display profound psychological distress through stereotypical behaviors like pacing, biting cage bars so desperately that they wear their teeth down, over-grooming, and self-mutilation.

Jemma’s Story

Jemma was 6 years old when she arrived at EVMS from the Southwest National Primate Research Center in 2011. Caged in near-constant isolation and deprived of everything that’s natural and important to her species, she began pulling out her hair and biting on cage bars—behaviors indicative of extreme psychological distress. Records reveal the extent of her suffering, documenting skin lesions, genital tears, and traumatic injuries, including missing fingers. She found solace briefly when one of the many babies she was forced to carry by experimenters, a male named Boo, was with her for a few short months. But Boo was taken from his mother in 2018, at just 8 months of age, after which Jemma resumed self-harming.

In 2019 and 2020, Jemma was subjected to two cesarean sections, both performed in the first trimester of her pregnancies. Just one year later, she was impregnated again. She was injected daily with a drug known to induce seizures in animals, and on at least one occasion, a lab worker found her unresponsive after the drug was administered. Procedures outlining what should be done in such an emergency were allegedly in place, but there are no records to indicate that they were followed. There are no records showing that Jemma received any veterinary treatment at all. She recovered from the seizure and then underwent a third C-section two days later. This one was performed “near term,” and her female baby was killed after the surgery.

As far as we know, Jemma remains imprisoned at EVMS.

Hundreds of Corpses

Since 1980, experimenters Gerald Pepe (currently at EVMS) and Eugene Albrecht (currently at the University of Maryland–Baltimore) have used olive baboons to purportedly study the role of hormones during pregnancy. In 2021, the University of Maryland–Baltimore was cited by the USDA for conducting multiple major survival surgeries on pregnant baboons without scientific justification or approval from the agency.

The present set of experiments at EVMS—funded through an NIH grant given to Albrecht—uses 156 baboons, with 63 fetuses being cut out of their mothers, tested on, and killed. An additional 40 are being allowed to be born, only so they can be used in other experiments.

Pepe and Albrecht have admitted that the hormonal manipulations used in their experiments are “associated with a 20% loss due to spontaneous abortion or failure of neonates [newborn infants] to thrive.” They estimated that their studies would require “a total of 70 pregnancies” over a five-year period.

What You Can Do

Please pressure EVMS to end these pointless and cruel experiments. You can do so by sending a polite e-mail to the following people:

Alfred Z. Abuhamad, M.D.
President
EVMS
abuhamaz@evms.edu (and via his assistant at mortontl@evms.edu)

Milton Brown, MD
Vice Dean for Research
EVMS
BrownML@evms.edu

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Strays in L.A. Are Being Turned Away From Shelters: Find Out How You Can Help

PETA has a message for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: Strays in L.A. are your fault. Countless animals are suffering because her mismanagement allows Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) to continue its disastrously failed pursuit of “no-kill” status. L.A. shelter staff have refused to accept stray animals and instructed residents to abandon them on the streets where they found them. PETA and other animal advocates have begged the city to intervene, but despite mounting evidence that LAAS policies aren’t working, Bass and city officials aren’t changing them.

side-by-side collage of two images showing the LA shelter ad

Left: PETA’s ads are going up all over the city. Right: A stray cat at a feeding station half a block from the Chesterfield Square/South LA shelter where animals are reportedly being dumped when turned away by the shelter. Credit: PETA

We’ve plastered the streets near her residence at Getty House, around City Hall, and by the Chesterfield Square/South LA shelter, where animals are reportedly being dumped when they’re turned away by the facility with messages reminding Bass—and her constituents—that countless animals are suffering because of her mismanagement.

How Is Mayor Bass Contributing to L.A.’s Homeless Animal Crisis?

LAAS shelters are severely crowded, and shelter staff are turning away homeless animals, forcing animals to live in filthy cages, warehousing dogs for months without walks, and instructing residents to abandon cats outdoors to fend for themselves, among other atrocities.

Abandoned cats and those who haven’t been socialized to interact with humans endure miserable lives, suffering from thirst, hunger, and exposure to harsh weather before dying due to illness, injury, starvation, human cruelty, or any number of other grisly causes. Cats forced to fend for themselves outdoors typically die before they’re 5 years old. Compare that to cats kept safe inside, who typically live 12 to 20 years.

How You Can Help: Take Action for L.A.’s Homeless Animals

Animal shelters were created to serve as safe havens for animals in need. There should be no waiting lists, no admission fees, and no excuses to keep animals out. The city’s homeless animal population could be humanely and sustainably reduced by enforcing  L.A.’s 2008 spay/neuter ordinance and banning breeding to prevent more animals from being born. Since the ordinance isn’t being enforced, more homeless animals are being born. As a result, the city’s shelters are perpetually full or overflowing, which is why animals are being turned away from shelters and then left on the streets to reproduce. In just one year, an unspayed cat can give birth to 12 kittens and an unspayed dog can have 16 puppies—all of whom would add to the animal overpopulation and homelessness crisis.

Join PETA in calling on Mayor Bass to do her job and remind city shelters of theirs: to provide shelter to all animals in need.

Urge Mayor Bass to Take Action

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Rep. Porter’s Puppy Promise Prompts PETA Plea: Adopt—Don’t Shop!

Could U.S. Rep. Katie Porter soon be visiting homeless animals in need at her local shelter? Since Porter may not be setting up shop in the U.S. Senate Chamber come January and promised her children a puppy if she lost her bid, PETA rushed a letter today to the representative urging her to set a compassionate example for her constituents by adopting—not shopping—for the new addition to her family.

“You don’t need it spelled out on a whiteboard to see that shelters in California and across the country are overflowing with unprecedented numbers of animals in need of loving homes,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is hoping that Rep. Porter stands up for everyone in California by adopting her next family member from a local shelter instead of buying a puppy from a breeder or a pet store.”

PETA notes that animal shelters have been severely crowded for years and that now, “pandemic puppies” bought from breeders and pet stores during the COVID-19 lockdown are being returned or abandoned in record numbers. At Orange County Animal Care, more dogs are coming in than are being adopted, leaving the shelter up to 100 dogs over its capacity. The solution to this crisis is to implement and enforce strict, mandatory spay/neuter laws and to adopt animals, not shop for them.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Porter follows.

March 13, 2024

The Honorable Katie Porter
U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Representative Porter:

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters worldwide, including over 600,000 in California. We recently learned that you promised your children a puppy. When you’re ready, we urge you to make the compassionate choice to adopt your new family member from an animal shelter.

You may be unaware that shelters across the country—including in Orange County—are in crisis mode, overflowing with unprecedented numbers of wonderful dogs, cats, and other animals who have ended up homeless through no fault of their own. Recognizing the animal overpopulation crisis, Los Angeles City Council members recently proposed a pause on issuing new breeding permits, stating, “It is unacceptable for the City to continue issuing breeding permits while thousands of animals are suffering from overcrowded conditions in our animal shelters.”

Recently, Orange County Animal Control was reportedly so severely crowded that it was housing 100 more animals than it had space for and was giving dogs away for free—a practice that has proved dangerous for animals. Similar inhumane conditions and dangerous practices are being reported at packed facilities across the state, including confining animals to stacked crates in hallways and offices and leaving them on the streets or in neglectful homes.

Adopting from a shelter would set a positive example of kindness for your constituents, and you’re in a unique position to make a huge difference. With so many dogs of all ages, energy levels, and personality types in need of responsible, loving homes, I’m confident that you would quickly find an ideal companion for your family at a shelter.

If you whiteboard this issue, you’ll find that the only kind and just decision is to adopt. We hope you’ll consider providing a loving home to one of tens of millions of homeless animals in the U.S. Please let me know if we can assist you in any way. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Daphna Nachminovitch
Senior Vice President
Cruelty Investigations Department

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PETA Statement: Iditarod ‘Winner’ Is a Champion of Pain and Suffering

Below, please find a statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in response to Dallas Seavey winning the 2024 Iditarod today:

Dallas Seavey, who literally wrote the book on abusing dogs, may have finished first, but he cemented his legacy as a champion of pain and suffering. Three dogs, including one belonging to his kennel, collapsed and died on the trail this year as their exhausted bodies were pushed beyond the breaking point, and their blood is on the hands of the mushers, Liberty Media, and every other sponsor of this death race. Six dogs used by Seavey had to be pulled from the race after he drove them into the ground. These animals include Faloo, who was critically injured by a moose and left to suffer for an agonizing eight hours as Seavey prioritized reaching the next checkpoint over going back so that the dog could be provided with urgent medical care. When the exhausted dogs return home, Seavey will reward them by chaining them up to wooden boxes in the blistering cold. PETA is calling for an immediate end to this nightmare before any more corpses are added to the towering pile this race has already amassed.

This year’s Iditarod has been the deadliest in recent years. Five dogs were killed in snowmachine incidents before this year’s race even began. (Another eight were injured.) Two of the dead dogs were from notorious musher Dallas Seavey’s kennel. A 2-year-old dog named Bog—also from Seavey’s kennel—was raced to his death by musher Isaac Teaford, who was caught on camera attempting to force Bog, whose limp body was lying on the snow, to his feet. Shortly after, race officials announced that George, a dog forced to race by musher Hunter Keefe, collapsed and died on the trail. And today, the Iditarod announced that a 3-year-old dog named Henry, who was forced to race by Calvin Daugherty, died on the trail before. Approximately 185 dogs have been pulled from the trail so far due to exhaustion, illness, or injury.

Alaska Airlines, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Jack Daniel’s, and Wells Fargo have all dropped their support for the race after hearing from PETA, which is calling on Liberty Media to follow suit. A protest at the Colorado home of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is scheduled for Thursday, March 14. More details about the 2024 Iditarod are available here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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PETA Statement re Third Dog Run to Death in This Year’s Iditarod

Please see the following statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman:

The Iditarod is the shame of Alaska.  How many more dogs need to die before this stops? Dogs’ lives are worth more than this.

PETA—whose motto reads in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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