September 20, 2011

Cameron Crowe, Director

We Bought a Zoo

Dear Mr. Crowe,

My name is Bob Ingersoll. You may have heard of the recent documentary Project Nim, by Academy Award winners James Marsh and Simon Chinn. In part, the film chronicles my relationship with Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee. I met Nim in September of 1977 and became a lifelong advocate for him and other captive primates and continue to do that work to this day. For almost 15 years now, I’ve served as president of Mindy’s Memory Primate Sanctuary in Newcastle, Oklahoma, where we provide a permanent home for almost 100 monkeys, many of whom come from situations similar to Crystal’s.

By now you’ve read the several other letters explaining why it is a bad idea to use live monkeys in movie projects. I don’t need to reiterate what my colleagues have written in their letters, except perhaps to point out that your use of Crystal perpetuates a problem that we have been trying to both bring to an end and provide a solution for, for many years. And I’ll add that in my opinion, computer-generated imaging has made using live animals entirely unnecessary and hopefully soon obsolete.

In my experience, monkeys that come to us from entertainment and pet situations are the most difficult to resocialize with members of their own species, since they’ve had little or no social experience with other monkeys. Being around humans may be fun and cute and entertaining for the humans, but it’s psycholo-gically devastating for the animal. The laughs for the brief moment in a movie or television show are not worth the suffering that animal generally will have to endure. Also, it is not unheard of for entertainment animals to end up in invasive medical research when their entertainment days are through, often in a few short years. The people that make a buck on the use of their animals for entertainment seldom have qualms about making a buck on them when they outlive their cute stage and enter the dangerous stage.

Another problem is that use of monkeys in movies stokes the public’s desire to own a monkey as a pet, thereby perpetuating more sales of captive primates. These monkeys are sold to people who are unequipped to provide for the magnitude of care needed for a primate’s physical and mental well-being over the decades of the monkey’s life. A capuchin can live to be 50 years of age. That’s a long time. Neeko spent eight years in a dog carrier, in a diaper, in an apartment. Abu ended up in a windowless tool shed in a backyard for a number of years before he was rescued by us. There are many more examples at our sanctuary alone, but you get the point. The bottom line is, using monkeys in entertainment ultimately just leads to many more monkeys in bad situations.

Capuchin monkeys are social animals, and they deserve the opportunity to live their lives as the monkeys they are, with members of their own species. They shouldn’t have to spend their lives being trained to do tricks for humans’ entertainment.

Thanks for taking the time to read this letter. Feel free to contact me directly if you would like. My number is (415) 609-4856; e-mail is newtrogs@hotmail.com.

Regards,

Bob Ingersoll, President

Mindy’s Memory Primate Sanctuary
Newcastle, Oklahoma

On Saturday September 10th, 2011, Norman Police canine, Pablo, died suddenly from natural causes. Pablo was a commissioned 8 year old German Shepard Norman police dog. Pablo and his handler, Sergeant Kellee Robertson, were assigned to the Special Investigations Division as a drug interdiction team. Throughout his career Pablo was responsible for the seizure of 3.54 pounds of cocaine, 42.7 grams of crack cocaine, 301.5 pounds of marijuana, 3.66 pounds of methamphetamine , and $272,886 us currency. Street value of the drugs is $323,770.00. Pablo was a very social dog and in addition to his interdiction duties, he was our lead canine for community interaction. Pablo performed many demonstrations to school children throughout the community as well as Leadership Norman and Tomorrow’s Leaders. A memorial service for Pablo will be planned in the near future.

Detective Sergeant Darin Morgan and his canine partner Lux have been selected as the 2011 State of Oklahoma K-9 Team of the Year by the Association of Oklahoma Narcotics Enforcers (A-ONE).

Detective Morgan and Lux are assigned full time to the Norman Police Department’s Interdiction Unit. From March 2010 to March 2011, Detective Morgan and Lux have seized 45.1 pounds of high grade marijuana and in excess of $79,000 dollars in drug proceeds. Additionally, Detective Morgan was responsible for disrupting a multi-state criminal enterprise in which the perpetrators were making and selling fake computers.

Although primarily focused on interdiction, Detective Morgan also assists other divisions within the police department with narcotics related incidents. In December 2010, Detective Morgan assisted the Patrol Bureau with an interview of an individual believed to be dealing in large quantities of high grade hydroponic marijuana. The interview resulted in Detective Morgan acting as the lead case agent. This case resulted in the seizure of more than 50 lbs of hydroponic marijuana, drug proceeds in excess of $130,000, and has lead to several other investigations by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Detective Morgan and Lux are a highly motivated, experienced, and skilled team of investigators. Their tireless efforts in the field of Drug Interdiction have earned them the A-One 2011 State of Oklahoma K-9 Team of the Year. The Norman Police Department is extremely proud of the favorable recognition they have brought to the Norman Police Department and the City of Norman.

For more information on A-One, please visit their web site at www.okienarc.com or Facebook (AONE).

• Dog, owner hurt in dispute. (Oklahoma City)
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• Benefit walk was Saturday at the zoo. (Oklahoma City)
• Pet Tales: A big, friendly bunch. (Oklahoma City)
• Police seek dog dollars. (Stillwater)
• Center to host nature day Saturday. (Frederick)
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• Super Saver wins as Borel bags another one. (Kentucky)
• Tech Tidbits: My Pet Speaker by Pet Acoustics. (Tuesday, page 3d)
• Rescue set up for animals. (Louisiana, Saturday, page 3a)

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

• Anglers find dead alligator. (Broken Bow)
• Senate rejects puppy mill measure. (state capitol)
• PBS special touts Canine Assistants. (nationwide)

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

Eleven new AKC® National Agility Champions were crowned yesterday at the 2010 AKC National Agility Championship sponsored by LubriSyn CA and J&J Dog Supplies, held March 26-28 in Tulsa, Okla. The American Kennel Club® event brought together nearly 1,000 dogs from across the country to compete for the titles of AKC National Agility Champion and AKC Preferred National Agility Champion. One dog and handler team was crowned in each jump height category in both the regular and preferred competitions.

The AKC National Agility Championship demonstrates the highest level of training and teamwork between dog and handler and is the culmination of thousands of trials held throughout the year. Dogs had to qualify at the highest levels of competition in order to compete.

“We are pleased to congratulate the 2010 National Agility Championship winners,” said Andy Hartman, AKC Director of Agility. “Bringing this event back to Tulsa was a thrill and we enjoyed the hospitality of the city and its spectators who cheered on our competitors, creating a contagious enthusiasm that helped the dog and handler teams perform at the top of their game.”

Agility events allow dogs to demonstrate their athleticism and versatility by racing against the clock and overcoming a challenging course of different obstacles. Success requires proper training, as it is a sport of physical skill, control, patience and – most importantly – teamwork between handler and dog.

Winners of the regular AKC National Agility Championship now have the title “NAC” as a prefix to their AKC names. Placing first in their height division (8″, 12″, 16″, 20″, 24” and 26″ respectively) were:

AKC National Agility Champions

• · 8” – NAC MACH3 Rosen Hill’s Blink Of An Eye (Toy Fox Terrier) owned by Johanna Ammentorp of Menomonee Falls, Wis.
• · 12” – NAC MACH4 Plail’s Few And Far Between, CDX, RN, PT, MXF (Shetland Sheepdog) owned by Marcy Mantell of Foster City, Calif.
• · 16” – NAC MACH3 Dylan, MXF, TQX (Rat Terrier) owned by Angie Benacquisto of Macomb Twp, Mich.
• · 20” – NAC Drifter, MX, MXJ (Border Collie) owned by Rosanne Demascio of Gilbertsville, Pa.
• · 24” – NAC MACH Peteswickedale, OF (Border Collie) owned by Jackie Bludworth of Clear Lake Shores, Texas
• · 26” – NAC Super Sun, MX, MXJ, OF (Border Collie) owned by Daisy Peel of Sumner, Wash.

In addition, the first Preferred National Agility Championship was added to this year’s event. The top dog in each preferred jump height – 4”, 8”, 12”, 16” and 20” won the title Preferred National Agility Champion of 2010. Dogs entered in the preferred competition jump at a lower height and have more time to complete the course than in the regular agility competition. Winners of the AKC Preferred National Agility Championship now have the title “PNAC” as a prefix to their AKC names.

AKC Preferred National Agility Champions

• · 4” – PNAC MACH Sassafras Of Diamond Dream, CDX, RN, PAX, MXP2, MJP3 (Toy Poodle) owned by Curtis Lewis DVM & Nancy Lewis of Ojai, Calif.
• · 8” – PNAC MACH Breezeway’s Blame It On Milly, PT, MXP2, MJP4, PAX, NF (Shetland Sheepdog) owned by Gayle Anderson of San Marcos, Calif.
• · 12” – PNAC Roxy, OA, OAJ, MXP2, MJP2, NF, XFP (Border Collie) owned by Megan Magnant of Midwest City, Okla.
• · 16” – PNAC MACH2 Old West New Kid In Town, MXP, MJP, OF (Australian Shepherd) owned by Naci Berkoz of Tarzana, Calif.
• · 20” – PNAC Peak’s Big Rig, MX, MXJ, MXP, MJP (Border Collie) owned by Elizabeth Armstrong of McKinney, Texas

For more information on AKC events, including photos and additional results, visit www.akc.org

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll

• Firefighters’ mascot earns his room, board. (Bartlesville)
• Horse show tests ability. (Oklahoma City, Sunday, page 17a)
• A growing philosophy: Stay-at-home dad relishes opportunity to reap land’s bounty. (Oklahoma County)
• Birdwatching seminar set. (Broken Arrow, Monday, page 4a)
• Grasshoppers may bug West. (Wyoming)
• Giraffe’s remains placed in trash after zoo miscommunication. (New Mexico)
• New network all wild, all the time. (California, Monday, page 3c)

Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll