UPDATED ON JULY 21, 2015 (see below)
Sixty six captive chimpanzees on a small island in Liberia, Africa were abandoned by the New York Blood Center and are now in desperate need of food and water.
This group of chimps were captured, breed, and used for research in Vilab II- a facility created by NYBC in partnership with the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research in the 1970s. After more than 30 years of confinement and injecting these chimps with hepatitis to study its affect on donated blood, the lab shut down in 2005.
NYBC, an organization with almost half a billion dollars in assets and major corporate partners, withdrew its funding to the chimps in March. The withdrawal came as a surprise, especially after NYBC recognized their responsibility to the chimps and promised to provide a lifetime endowment to support them in 2005.
The chimpanzees raised at the NY Blood Center’s research facility are completely dependent on the human caregivers that provide them with food and fresh water. As of now, the people caring for the chimps are kind volunteers, but this is not practical for them or the chimps in the long run.
How can you help? First, you can sign this petition on change.org for the NYBC to reinstate funding immediately, even Dr. Jane Goodall signed the petition! Next, you can donate any amount you want to the chimps that will go directly to them and their caretakers here! Lastly, if you want to continue showing support for the chimpanzees, donate blood to other organizations like the American Red Cross until NY Blood Center agrees to fund the chimps again!
UPDATE: The NY Blood Center has still not stepped up to the plate, leaving the chimps in the dark. This seems bizarre to many because the executive director of NYBC makes $1.2 million dollars annually, while none of this money is going to the chimps who desperately need it. Every time you donate blood to this organization, some the profits fall into the directors pockets who is carelessly letting these chimps down. Instead, please continue to donate your blood to people in need, but give to other organizations like the American Red Cross!
After many protests taking place in NYC at the Blood Center’s headquarters, the chimpanzee’s cries have not fallen on deaf ears. As of today, the petition created to push NY Blood Center to fund the chimps again on change.org, has been signed by over 185K people! Please support these chimps who are in need of your advocacy and care, by signing the petition here!
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