Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time

Advocates Disrupt Dr. Laurie Glimcher Over NY Blood Center Chimp Abandonment Crisis

September 29, 2016 by Leave a Comment


The News

One minute after Dr. Laurie Glimcher began speaking at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, animal rights advocates launched out of their seats to disrupt – and ruin – her presentation. Glimcher, who served on the board of the New York Blood Center (NYBC) when the organization decided to abandon 66 chimpanzees on islands in Liberia, has refused to address the crisis since advocates approached her in mid-2015.

In May, 2015, the NY Times reported that NYBC had “withdrawn all funding” for its former lab chimpanzees, leaving the animals to die of starvation and thirst. With virtually no resources and burdened by the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, volunteers in Liberia kept the chimpanzees alive until an HSUS-led coalition of over 30 animal conservation groups raised funds from the public to pay for the chimps’ care on an emergency basis — until NYBC reinstates funding.

Laurie Glimcher is escorted out of the room during the disruption.

Laurie Glimcher is escorted out of the room during the disruption.

In 2015 and 2016, activists in NYC staged almost twenty protests targeting Dr. Glimcher at her Upper East Side home and at Cornell Medical College, where she served as the Dean.  Activists in Boston have taken over the campaign because Glimcher moved to Boston to become the CEO of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Animal rights activists in Philadelphia disrupted Laurie Glimcher, who served on NY Blood Center board when it abandoned chimpanzees

Animal rights activists in Philadelphia disrupted Laurie Glimcher, who served on NY Blood Center board when it abandoned chimpanzees

Your Turn

Join the Facebook page: New York Blood Center: Do the Right Thing to stay apprised of news and to participate in online actions to pressure the NY Blood Center to provide lifelong care to their former laboratory chimps.

In a letter to the NY Blood Center, Jane Goodall said the organization has a moral obligation to pay for the chimps' care.

In a letter to the NY Blood Center, Jane Goodall said the organization has a moral obligation to pay for the chimps’ care.



Comments via Facebook

TheirTurn.net Comments

  1. Beth Sopko says:

    This is the letter I sent to Sheila Appel at the IBM Watson building:

    “Although I had an appointment to donate blood on Saturday, I stumbled upon a demonstration in front of the Watson IBM building this evening, and learned that the retired research chimps that the New York Blood Center—used for 30 years—are still stranded on islands in Liberia. This is unacceptable, since the Blood Center had promised they would be cared for for life.

    “I had pledged a couple of years ago, when I first heard of this situation, that I wouldn’t donate any blood products to the Blood Center until the situation was rectified. Now that I’ve become aware it hasn’t, I’m going to call and cancel my appointment; I can’t in all conscience give anything to NYBC while these chimps remain stranded.

    “Of course, as soon as these chimps are cared for properly, I will go back to being a regular donor—which I had previously been, for over ten years.

    “Do the right thing!”

  2. TG says:

    Great work to those folks, thanks for bringing attention to the plight of the abandoned chimps.

  3. Kay p says:

    Proud of each of you. don’t ever let her forget!

Comments are closed.