To Use this letter:
- Address it to the facility in your area that experiments on
primates.
- Fill in the blanks in the letter with the name of the laboratory
to whom this letter will be sent.
- Sign and date the letter. Mail it to the laboratory.
- Inform SAEN of the response.
Dear Sir/Madame,
I am contacting you today regarding a matter of great
importance: the use of primates in experimentation. Primate
experimentation imprisons and tortures approximately 100,000 primates in
the U.S. The majority of this experimentation is funded by the federal
government through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Primate experimentation is typically extolled by those
performing it as being performed humanely in facilities that follow all
federal regulations. In light of the surfacing of information regarding
violations of federal regulations in many primate laboratories across
the U.S. (see the SAEN report: Squalor in the Laboratories at
www.saenonline.org, I believe
that it is important for the people of the U.S. to know what their tax
dollars are supporting.
Therefore, I hereby officially request access to the
facilities of the __________ laboratory so that I may review the
practices of ________ with respect to adequate animal care, and
compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. I would also like to request
access to the health care records for all primates within the _________
for the period of one year (previous to the date of this request) so
that the veterinary treatment received by the primates might be
assessed. I would also request access to all active research protocols
involving the use of primates so that the scientific merit of these
projects may be assessed.
I believe that it would also be in the interest of the
general public to allow broadcast and print media to view the facilities
of the _________. Since the people of the United States fund the primate
experimentation carried out within the facility, they have a right to
see what their tax dollars are purchasing.
I will expect a response to this request within 10
business days (two weeks) of the receipt of the letter.
Sincerely,