Dear AZ Residents,

I'm posting the following info from Arizona Animal Advocates. If you live ANYWHERE in Arizona, PLEASE make time to write or call our governor Napolitano and tell her you don't want this animal testing lab to come to Arizona! Thank you!

Laura E.
Citizens Against Covance February 20, 2006 11:24 PM

So what is Covance exactly?

Covance Laboratories- one of the world’s largest animal-testing laboratories, the world’s largest breeder of dogs for experiments, and one of the biggest importers of wild-caught monkeys into the United States—is planning to build a new testing facility in Chandler, Arizona. We need your help to stop this project in its tracks!

Last year, PETA went public with an 11-month investigation inside a Covance laboratory in Vienna, Virginia—documenting appalling physical and psychological abuse of monkeys. Video footage shot inside Covance was described by a U.K. judge as being “highly disturbing.” The judge also commented on the “rough manner in which the animals [are] handled and the bleakness of the surroundings in which they are kept,” matters which he said “cry out for explanation.”

Indeed, Covance has a lot of explaining to do—from the hundreds of violations of the Animal Welfare Act documented by PETA’s investigator to the sloppy business practices noted in its violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to problems ensuring safety of its workers and its host community (in 1989, when Covance was known as Hazleton Labs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a tactical medical military team outfitted in biohazard suits had to enter the lab, kill all the animals, and seal the facility as Ebola virus had been discovered in sick monkeys brought in by the laboratory from the Philippines)—and it does not deserve a red carpet welcome into Chandler.

Please send polite letters to Mayor Boyd W. Dunn and the members of the Chandler City Council, urging them to rescind permission given to Covance to build a facility in Chandler. Let them know that you do not want Covance’s presence to sully the fine reputation of Chandler, where values truly do make the difference.

Please respond promptly and forward as appropriate:

Office of the Mayor & City Council
Mail Stop 603
P.O. Box 4008
Chandler, AZ  85244-4008
480-782-2200
480-782-2233 (fax)

E-Mail Addresses:

Mayor Boyd W. Dunn: boyd.dunn@chandleraz.gov
Vice Mayor Phillip Westbrooks: phill.westbrooks@chandleraz.gov
Councilmember Bob Caccamo: bob.caccamo@chandleraz.gov
Councilmember Lowell Huggins: lowell.huggins@chandleraz.gov
Councilmember Matt Orlando: matt.orlando@chandleraz.gov
Councilmember Donna Wallace: donna.wallace@chandleraz.gov

Citizens of Chandler decided this was not a company they wanted in their backyards, and have formed Citizens Against Covance. Please visit their website at www.stopcovance.com for more information and alerts to upcoming demos and meetings.

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