Monkeys freed from UCSF labs - an inside job, with outside help

October 9, 2006

Dear Advocates for Animals: Some heartening news, for a change, regarding UCSF's care and (ab)use of animals. Please see article below. -- Monkeys freed from UCSF - an inside job, with outside help Because one person (or more) has a "heart" within UCSF's walls, two monkeys were released to a sanctuary in Oklahoma in March of this year - though the news of their release just reached me in late September. From what I know, due to the strong insistence of a female veterinarian at UCSF, two rhesus monkeys - named Wyatt and Eddie, former subjects of Dr. Stephen Lisberger's experiments - are now enjoying a virtual paradise (compared to UCSF's labs) at

Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary, located just a few miles from Oklahoma City. And more good news: another monkey is slated to be released from UCSF to the sanctuary later this month. I can't tell you how surprised I was to hear the news - broadcast on Bob Linden's "Go Vegan Radio" - www.GoVeganRadio.com - several weeks ago. I might have gotten more information earlier, but I missed the first part of Bob's interview with Shelly Ladd, President of Mindy's Memory Primate Sanctuary. That should be a good lesson to all - not to miss a minute of his show - which airs in the Bay Area at 9 PM every Sunday on KQKE, the "Quake," 960 on the radio's AM dial - THAT'S TONIGHT! By the way, the show needs

financial support - so please check out web site above to see how you can help this valuable show continue. From what I gathered from Shelly Ladd in a recent phone conversation with her, the sanctuary has been around since 1995, taking in unwanted monkeys from humans who once had them as pets, as well as taking in monkeys formerly exploited in research labs. Currently Mindy's is home to about eighty monkeys from various backgrounds. I want to interject a pitch for Mindy's (a 501-c-3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization) - that is, a pitch for donations. The more dollars you can give, the more the monkeys will benefit. So please consider a donation to make the sanctuary even a better environment for the monkeys there. Please visit www.mindysmem.org for more information on how you can help. All in all, I feel it's a good reason to celebrate, since several monkeys - whom we have advocated for on numerous occasions in demonstrations at UCSF - have been given a happier and healthier place to live. May this be the start of a trend that would mean happier endings for monkeys and other animals currently at UCSF. Bob O'Brien

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