An Open Letter to the Washington Regional Primate Research Center from Matt Rossell, former primate technician at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center:
I am writing to express my disbelief and dismay that you have hired Dr. Stephen Kelley as your head veterinarian.
During my two years at the Primate Center, I worked to try to improve the lives of the monkeys in our care but often hit a brick wall named Dr. Stephen Kelley.
I was an eyewitness to his military-style management skills, his disconnection from staff, his casual disregard for the Animal Welfare Act, his blatant contempt for USDA inspector Dr. Isis Johnson Brown, and his utter lack of compassion for the animals under his care.
Dr. Kelleyıs record is abysmal in every area of responsibility assigned to him. Because of his poor job performance, Dr. Kelley was placed on administrative leave and evetually forced to resign. Two-thirds of Dr. Kelley's staff signed a formal complaint to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) committee.
Dr. Kelleyıs pattern of indifference towards both animals and staff indicate what the future holds if you retain him at Washington Regional Primate Research Center (WaRPRC). Though he always knows the going price of a juvenile rhesus macaque, he has proven himself incapable of humanely managing a colony of monkeys and their caregivers. His record speaks for itself and he should be terminated immediately.
I am in full support of Northwest Animal Rights Network's campaign to remove him.
Sincerely, Matt Rossell
NARN demands:
"I have worked at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center as an animal technician for more than two years and what I saw broke my heart every day."
The location may have changed, but the players have not.
What you can expect at the Washington Regional Primate Research Center.