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From time to time the NZAVS has supported the International Primate Protection League (http://www.ippl.org/) and the combined efforts of concerned societies has resulted, through massive letter-writing campaigns, in certain countries placing embargoes on exports of non-human primates to vivisection laboratories.

Recently, the United States, the world's major user of primates, has found itself confronted with a shortage of these animals as a result of export bans and quotas imposed by many countries concerned about massive depletion of primates and/or reports of gross misuse of primates in the United States.

The International Primate Protection League (http://www.ippl.org/) now reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has, in return for payments exceeding half a million U.S. dollars, agreed to use its influence and contacts in tropical countries to re-open international trade in primates. The World Health Organisation will receive "service charges" and negotiate shipments.

Partners in the contract are WHO and the Division of Research Services, National Institute of Health (of TAUB fame). The "Principal Investigator" for WHO being Frank Perkins, Ph.D, whose daughter is a British primate trafficker.

The United States initially used the State Department in its efforts to sabotage primate export bans. Threats to cut off "aid", political pressure, and denials of misuse of primates, failed to break export bans... Now the U.S. National Institute of Health has decided to use the World Health Organisation and is stepping up the misuse of primates in chemical warfare and other military experiments. In Peru the U.S./WHO project has been criticised for inhumane trapping techniques, high mortality of captive animals and for the export of thousands of primates, many of whom are dead on arrival at Miami Airport - many more die soon after, or are killed in U.S. laboratories.