Subject: Congo Bonobo
Project Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 20:56:55 +0000
From: Hope Walker
To: drsuzyb@blockbooks.com

Dear Dr. Block,

A member of my Board of Directors emailed tonight to share details of your website. As the Director of The Primate Conservation & Welfare Society, I must say we are thrilled to learn about you! Anyone with a driving passion to help primates is great in our book, and your dedication and concern are obvious - and delightful!

I wanted to share with you the details of a project in the DRC (Congo) which is in dire need of support. Claudine André has a project, SANCTUAIRE DES BONOBOS DU CONGO, which rescues and provides sanctuary to infant and juvenile bonobos - unfortunate byproducts of the trade in bushmeat. We are currently discussing the possibility of acting as a support system for them in the United States under our Sister Sanctuary Program - in order to help them raise funds and contacts for their facility. By all accounts Claudine has worked miracles and the primates at her center are blessed to be there. We are still in discussions about this, but they are very interested and I thought perhaps a nice match could be made here.

Dr. Tony Rose is a member of our Advisory Board, and I was so pleased to see him listed on your site. He is a wonderful person, and a great champion of wildlife, people and the habitats they share, and his work is so very important (both Biosynergy and Bushmeat Project).

PCWS is also working hard to get a project underway whereby an education center and primate sanctuary will be built in California - in order to offer sanctuary to primates previously kept as pets, those used in entertainment (where they are often abused) and those retired from lab research. The center would also act as a hub of sorts, so that projects like Claudine's would have the chance to link up with the interested public for the benefit of both.

I would be delighted to discuss all of this in more details - please feel free to telephone me at 1.888.595.7297.

Either way we wish you continued best wishes for your work.

Sincerely,
Hope Walker
Executive Director
The Primate Conservation & Welfare Society
www.primates-online.com