FREE THE CU 34
Monkeys being held by the University of Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. – The Committee for Research Accountability (CRA), a project of In Defense of Animals (IDA), is calling upon the University of Colorado to release 34 monkeys being held in its Health Sciences facility. CU has stated it would cost $10,000 to $15,000 per animal for this release. Both CRA and IDA urge the University to forego the ransom and set these intelligent, feeling animals free after years of service to CU researchers.

Since 1986, Mark Laudenslager of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center has used macaque monkeys in maternal separation experiments to analyze the effects of separating infants from their mothers. One can only imagine the terror and confusion of the mother when her baby is torn from her, even for a short time. After being taken from their mothers, the babies can experience severe depression, anxiety, loneliness and fear, and may suffer lifelong psychological consequences.

These experiments are widely known and condemned by many because they are considered to be archaic and unnecessary and of questionable applicability to human health. After many years of public scrutiny, Laudenslager's project ended recently.

Laudenslager's subjects comprise one-third of CU's bonnet macaque breeding colony, which numbers approximately 34 monkeys. Of these, 31 have been at the facility since birth, the oldest being nearly 18 years old. Another monkey, 36 year-old who was "wild caught," is slated as a potential subject for a terminal experiment.

Leading a campaign to retire the monkeys to a sanctuary is Rita Anderson of Colorado-based CRA. On numerous occasions she has asked CU officials to tour their primate facilities to view the living conditions and health of the sanctuary candidates. "The people I've talked to have been evasive and non-responsive. I don't understand why a public institution like CU would not allow a citizen to see this facility, unless they had something to hide," said Anderson.

She added that she was told several months ago that CU officials would be willing to discuss the possibility of release and retirement of the monkeys if she found a sanctuary. However, after telling CU that she has found an accredited sanctuary willing to accept them, she was told she must pay CU $10,000 to $15,000 per animal for their release. A letter she received from the Health Sciences Center indicated they thought she may be interested in "possibly assisting the University financially if the colony were to be transferred elsewhere."

Based on information obtained through a Colorado Open Records request, Laudenslager stated in a September, 2001 e-mail that he has to "commit about $80,000/year for animal support" for the monkeys he was using. In this email, he also wrote that "The vet is a little anxious about being stuck with them in two years and having to euthanize the colony." It is therefore baffling why, when given a cost-free out for these animals, the University is unwilling to bend. Dr. Elliot Katz, veterinarian and President of In Defense of Animals, said, "It is outrageous for CU to be asking $10,000 to $15,000 per monkey. These monkeys, after years of confinement, deserve to be ‘set free'. It is simply wrong for them to be held hostage."

Anderson believes the monkeys should not be held at the Health Sciences Center any longer since they have already given years of service to CU researchers. She said, "The humane and ethical thing would be for CU to release them to the sanctuary where they can live their remaining years in peace, free from fear and pain, where they can experience fresh air and sunlight, perhaps for the first time in their lives."

Anderson encourages citizens seeking the release of the monkeys to a sanctuary to contact University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman at elizabeth.hoffman@cu.edu. or 303.492.6201.

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