It's Not All Monkey Business

By Dr. Angela Demaree, Assistant Director of the GRD

As you are all aware by now, the 2008 Farm Bill - on which GRD has been diligently working two years now - finally passed in May, after a year of deliberation by the House and the Senate and a last-minute clerical error.

Another success story for the GRD has been the Captive Primate Safety Act. The Senate version of the bill was introduced back in May 2007, and the GRD staff has been working behind the scenes since then, along with the help of our Grassroots Network, to get this bill passed in the 110th Congress. Our first success came on October 29, 2007, when the Senate bill was passed out of Committee and was placed on the Senate Calendar. Now on the Senate Calendar, it could come up for a vote at any time.

In the meantime, GRD, with the help of the Animal Welfare and Communications divisions, focused our efforts on the House, where in March 2008, Dr. Gail Golab testified on their version of the Captive Primate Safety Act. Dr. Golab did a tremendous job of testifying before and answering the questions of members of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans to convey the AVMA's position of support and our related policies, "Private Ownership of Wild Animals" and "Nonhuman Primates as Assistance Animals." Subsequently, the House bill passed out of Committee and passed the House in June by an overwhelming vote of 302-96.

So now what? We have two bills in the Senate, the House version and the Senate version, awaiting action. The GRD staff will continue to monitor this legislation and work to get it moving in the Senate along with our Coalition Partners. In order to be effective, we need you to sign up for our Grassroots Network, if you haven't already; and await an e-mail alert. We'll need your help in getting e-mails, faxes and phone calls into your Senators to encourage them to vote YES to the Captive Primate Safety Act.

Only with the help of veterinarians, pet owners and animal enthusiasts such as you can we be successful in getting this important legislation passed and end the illegal trafficking of non-human primates for the pet trade.

Contact Dr. Angela Demaree at ademaree@avma.org with any questions.