Action against Nepal in France
On the 4th of June activists from the French Coalition-Anti Vivisection visited the Nepalese Embassy in Paris to discuss the breeding and proposed export of rhesus monkeys.
Upon arrival the 2 activists explained the situation and were quickly invited to have talks with the Ambassador, presumably to keep us away from the people waiting to arrange their visa applications. However at least one traveller, a self-declared Buddhist, took our contact details and vowed to join our protests upon hearing about the proposed exports...he also screwed up his visa application and threw it in the bin, which means Nepal has lost at least one visitor due to our visit and we have gained another activist to fight against their sordid plans!
During our discussions with the Ambassador it was clear that he was completely unaware of the situation regarding the monkeys and was interested to hear what we had to say, although he insisted there was no exports of monkeys currently occurring, (a fact we're well aware of, because the first breeding pairs aren't due to be shipped to a life of misery until September). However, the Ambassador also insisted that to his knowledge there are no breeding facilities for monkeys in Nepal and he was sure that the newly elected Nepalese Government would never allow such things to happen...let's just hope he's right!
When the activists explained how the law had been introduced by the now deposed King, the Ambassador stated that all the laws imposed by the King have since been repealed...which unfortunately isn't true, all the laws except one have been repealed and sadly that is the "Wildlife Farming, Breeding and Research Policy".
The Wildlife Farming, Breeding and Research Policy, unlawfully enacted by the King in 2003, allows American Research Institutes to exploit Nepal's rhesus monkeys by breeding them for export and using them in Nepalese based, (American staffed and funded), research institutes where all manner of horrific experiments are performed on wild caught rhesus macaques with absolutely no regulation at all...and it is exactly this law which we are campaigning against!
Another interesting issue raised by the Ambassador during our meeting was the poaching of monkeys by Chinese merchants who sell them for food in China, which has been happening at such an alarming rate that the Nepalese Government has become concerned about the number of rhesus macaques left in the wild. This is contrary to the suggestion by Dr Chalise, (the "conservationist" and wildlife merchant who helped broker the deal between the Americans and the King), that Nepal's rhesus monkey's are currently in abundance and that it would be "sustainable" to send some of them to America to be used in "vital research" that will "benefit" Nepalese people!
It is clear that the Nepalese ambassador in France, as with other countries, is unaware of the real situation with the proposed exports of rhesus monkeys from Nepal and therefore it is vital that people get to their local embassy or consulate and raise their objections before the first animals are shipped in less than 3 months time!!!
