BUAV NEWS RELEASE
15th December 2010
Celebrity wildlife heroes Brian May & Bill Oddie support BUAV’s call for an
end to the UK’s role in cruel monkey trade
London: Rock guitarist Brian May and TV wildlife expert Bill Oddie have joined
the BUAV in its call on the UK Government to stop supporting the cruel trade in
wild-caught monkeys. Brian May and Bill Oddie joined a host of MPs,
primatologists and other scientists who attended an event at the House of
Commons for the BUAV’s Stop the Baby Trade campaign to end the cruel trade in
monkeys for research. The event was hosted by Leader of the Green Party,
Caroline Lucas MP, with guest speaker, field biologist and conservationist Ian
Redmond OBE.
Brian May and Bill Oddie were shocked to learn about the cruelty and suffering
involved in the capture of wild primates. Despite a UK ban on the import of
wild-caught primates since 1997, there is not a similar ban on their offspring.
Since 2009, over 2,000 monkeys born to wild-caught parents have been imported
into the UK. The majority of these came from Mauritius which is the UK’s main
supplier of primates.
Dr Brian May CBE said:
“The imprisonment and abuse of wild animals must stop. BUAV has uncovered
evidence of monkeys ripped from their jungle homes and families, and forced to
produce babies who will be shipped to laboratories around the world. The UK
plays a major part in allowing this cruel trade to continue by importing monkeys
from countries such as Mauritius for British laboratories. On behalf of the
Save-Me foundation, I call on the Government to cut all ties with this cruel
trade immediately, and fully support the BUAV’s campaign to Stop the Baby
Trade.”
Bill Oddie OBE said:
"To me this issue is not whether or not animals should ever be used in medical
research, it is about the utterly unacceptable and blatantly cruel conditions in
which monkeys are trapped, transported and kept. I fully support the BUAV’s
campaign to Stop the Baby Trade."
Caroline Lucas MP has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 957) calling on the
Government to completely disassociate the UK from the cruel trade by banning the
use of primates born to wild-caught parents, as well as those from facilities
which trap wild primates for breeding purposes. The EDM has to date been signed
by over 80 MPs.
Other famous supporters of the campaign include comedian Ricky Gervais and
celebrity designer Meg Mathews.
ENDSFor further information and images, please contact Fleur Dawes at
fleur.dawes@buav.org or +44(0)7850 510955 or +44(0)207 6196978 or Sarah Kite at
sarah.kite@buav.org
www.stopthebabytrade.org
EDM:
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=41946&SESSION=905
