My Nonprofit Reviews

The Nonhuman Rights Project just might be the most important animal rights group around today, and I have been a supporter of Steve Wise's work for many years. One of the major impediments to improving the lot of animals is that they have no legal standing in court, and, therefore, lawyers are often unable to argue their cause. The Nonhuman Rights Project opposes this state of affairs by finding ways to obtain legal standing for animals, and thereby be able to argue their case in court. Ever since his seminal book, "Rattling Their Cages", Steve Wise has been on the forefront to improve the legal status of animals. The group has as their clients elephants and chimpanzees, and they have achieved some success in improving animals' legal status and in not considering them mere property. One of the major impediments to successfully advocating for animals is speciesism, the notion that the human species is unique and, thereby, superior to all the other species on earth. This notion often underlies every argument against granting animals rights and legal standing. It is this very notion that The Nonhuman Rights Project fights on a daily basis. As sentient creatures, who can suffer and experience great pain, and also experience other emotions once thought to be uniquely experienced only by humans, speciesism has no place any longer in our view of animals. Currently The NhRP is trying to get Minnie the elephant out of the zoo in which she is being held captive and abused and into an elephant sanctuary. The NhRP has also had some success in representing chimpanzes in court. Until the basic fallacy in our understanding of nonhuman species is corrected, all other attempts are often doomed to failure. I have listed The NhRP in my will, and it is one of 5 animal protection groups that I regularly contribute to. I have nothing but the greatest praise for this group, and I advise people interested in animal welfare and rights to similarly support this wonderful group.

Murry J. Cohen, M.D.

I have been a life member of AAVS for more decades than I am able to remember. I can recall when Bernard Unti was president and he and I became friends, I was kept abreast, in a most personal way, of the projects and undertakings of the organization. At that time there were three major national antivivisection organizations on the scene; now there are only two, making AAVS's work even more important. From the days of Mr. Cave. the AAVS has been on the forefront of fighting the evil that is vivisection. Before the major animal rights organizations of today, AAVS was there leading the good battle. When the definitive history of the animal rights movement is written, AAVS will be listed as one of the pioneering organizations. AAVS has always funded and supported major efforts and campaigns to fight vivisection. Without the efforts of AAVS, we would still be advocating and funding the archaic, nonscientific and inhumane methods of Dr. Claude Bernard, the father of vivisection. AAVS deserves all of our enthusiastic support.
---Murry J. Cohen, M.D.

I have been working as scientific advisor to SAEN (Stop Animal Exploitation Now) for almost 2 years. I find SAEN's work vital to the antivivisection effort. SAEN is one if the few groups ENTIRELY focused on fighting animal experimentation. Michael Budkie works tirelessly, reviewing reports obtained through The Freedom of Information Act, documenting inadequate, and sometimes horrendous animal care in laboratories. SAEN also holds national conferences, hitherto twice annual, and now annual, to teach people the flaws of vivisection, and how to oppose it. SAEN has been responsible for many laboratories being fined, and SAEN participated in the effort to get the Harvard Primate Center shut down, which will occur next year. SAEN also cooperates with other animal advocacy groups to improve the plight of animals in many other contexts. SAEN has devoted activists, like Karen Budkie and Julia Orr, working to limit and abolish animal abuse. I have been able to share what I have learned in my 30 year fight against vivisection with Michael, Karen, Julia, and Stacey, and together they make a formidable team.