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| Forwarded Message from Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman International Primate Protection League: It was five years ago that I received an eye-witness report from a person who had seen dozens of pathetic baby monkeys in crates of Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The animals had been consigned by the Indonesian animal dealer Agus Darmawan to the firm LABS which breeds monkeys for research in South Carolina. Shipment of infant animals violates US law. IPPL obtained documents showing that showed that not only baby monkeys were included in the April and May 1997 shipments, but that older wild-caught monkeys had been shipped on fraudulent "captive-born" documents. More information about these disgusting shipments is on our web site www.ippl.org In the five subsequent years, IPPL members have blitzed prosecutors and wildlife agents with letters, postcards, and petitions demanding justice for the baby monkeys. We are thrilled to tell you that, on 3 April 2002, the company itself and three company officers were indicted. The individuals were David Taub, president of LABS at the time of the shipments; Charles Stern, Chairman of the Board of LABS, and LABS Board member Curtis LABS and Taub were each charged with 8 FELONIES and 4 misdemeanors (12 counts each) and face long prison terms which they deserve. Henley and Curtis each face one charge. Many members participated in the "Baby Monkey" campaign. Thanks to everyone. I should like to say that, despite the animals involved being monkeys not trendy great apes, I myself have never worked harder on a case. This is what makes IPPL different - we fight for ALL primates, not the glamorous "trendy" ones. -------------------------US Attorney's press release----------------- U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Northern District of Illinois Patrick J. Fitzgerald United States Attorney Federal Building 19 South Dearborn Street Chicago Illinois 60604 (312)353-5300 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY APRIL 3, 2002 AUSA Diane MacArthur (312) 353-5352 AUSA/PIO Randall Samborn (312) 353-5318 U. S. INDICTS SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMATE FIRM AND OFFICERS FOR IMPORTATION AND HUMANE TRANSPORTATION WILDLIFE VIOLATIONS CHICAGO - A South Carolina firm engaged in breeding and selling non-human primates for use in medical research, two current officers and a former officer were indicted for allegedly violating federal wildlife protection laws arising from four shipments of monkeys known by the scientific name "Cynomolgus macaques," which entered the United States through O'Hare International Airport from Indonesia in 1997. The firm, LABS of Virginia, Inc., allegedly imported the macaques in order to establish its own breeding colony in Yemassee, S. Carolina, where it is based, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today. A federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment late yesterday, alleging that the shipments contained wild-caught macaques in violation of Indonesian law and that the shipping documents falsely represented that the shipments contained only macaques bred in captivity. The indictment also alleges that three of the shipments contained nursing mothers and unweaned young in violation of federal regulations. In addition to charging the firm, the current officers named in the indictment are Charles J. Stern, chairman of the board, and William Curtis Henley III, a Labs board member. Also indicted was David M. Taub, who was LABS's president at the time of the shipments. Taub, 59, of Beaufort, S. Car., Stern, 44, of Newport News,Va., and Henley, 43, of Poquoson, Va., will be arraigned later in U.S. District Court in Chicago. According to the indictment, in 1996 LABS entered into negotiations with an Indonesian firm, Indonesian Aquatics Export CV, known as Inquatex, to purchase the breeding colony consisting of approximately 1,312 macaques. The macaques in the Inquatex colony were classified under an international treaty as a species that might become threatened unless trade in the species was strictly limited. The United States and Indonesia were both parties to the treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as "CITES." The indictment alleges that, at the same time, Indonesia had a law banning the export of the type of macaques in the Inquatex colony if those macaques were wild-caught. The Inquatex colony that Labs ultimately purchased consisted of both wild-caught and captive-bred macaques. The four shipments of macaques sent from Inquatex to Labs arrived at O'Hare Airport between Feb. 20, 1997, and May 30, 1997, the indictment alleges, with permits and health certificates for each of the shipments reflecting that they contained captive-bred macaques, when the shipments actually contained a mix of wild-caught and captive-bred macaques. The last three shipments contained between 17 to 19 pairs of nursing mothers and unweaned young, according to the indictment. LABS and Taub were charged in all 12 counts of the indictment. They were harged with four felony counts of submitting false records in connection with the four shipments, four felony counts of an importation violation, one misdemeanor count of trafficking in wildlife in violation of a foreign nation's (Indonesia) law, and three misdemeanor counts of shipping nursing mothers and unweaned young in violation of federal regulations. Stern and Henley were each charged in the one misdemeanor count alleging trafficking in violation of a foreign law. "This office treats seriously the obligation of importers of wildlife to honor laws and regulations designed to protect certain species and to insure their safe and humane transport," Mr. Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald announced the charges with Mary Jane Lavin, Assistant Regional Director, Division of Law Enforcement for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The case was investigated by Fish and Wildlife Special Agent David Kirkby in Chicago. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur. The crimes charged in the indictment carry the following maximum sentences as to each count of conviction: (1) false records charges - five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine; (2) trafficking charge - one year imprisonment and a $10,000 fine; (3) importation in violation of law charges - 5 years and a $250,000 fine; and (4) humane transport violations - one year imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the United States has the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman International Primate Protection League POB 766, Summerville SC 29484-0766, USA Ph. 843-871-2280 Fax. 843-871-7988 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ippl.org "We need not think alike to love alike." Francis David |
| Baby Monkey Dealers Indicted |