2002 has been an exciting year. We have accomplished many things for the benefit of the animals that are imprisoned in laboratories. All of these accomplishments have been a direct result of the donations which people just like you have made to Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! None of the vital campaigns organized by SAEN would have happened without your support. I cannot thank you enough for the gifts which you have given to us.

During this year SAEN has exposed the ugly underside of vivisection to people across the U.S. Our work has put animal experimentation into the mainstream of our society. The hard-hitting investigations that have become our trademark were the basis of over seventeen separate pieces of media coverage across America. Prestigious publications and national news services have made our work into headlines! During 2002 SAEN events were covered by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Associated Press, the Seattle Times, the Detroit Free Press, the Akron Beacon-Journal, The Oregonian, the Wisconsin State Journal, and numerous radio and television stations. All of these successes were the direct result of your donations.

This issue of The Defender will get you up to date on all of our recent work for the animals. Updates are included on P&G, Operation Activist (our new website www.saenonline.org ), the University of Washington, the University of Florida, National Primate Liberation Week, the erroneous reporting of the National Primate Research Centers, the P.E.A.C.E. Project, and the error-riddled report that the USDA recently filed with Congress.

Right now, we are not certain if we will be able to continue these vital programs. That decision is up to you. Do you think it is important to fight for the 100,000 primates that suffer in experimentation and imprisonment every year in U.S. laboratories? Should we work for their freedom? Should we fight to end their abuse?

These are difficult times, and we are all faced with troubling choices. I know that you are literally besieged with requests for donations from dozens of organizations. You have to decide where your priorities lie. Which organization gives you the most for your donation dollars?

I am proud of the many accomplishments of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!. And I am amazed that we have done so much with so little. Our Annual Report for 2001 is included in this newsletter to help you evaluate our operations.

Did you know that our entire annual budget is less than the salary of many individual employees of the larger national animal rights organizations? Did you know that during 2001 both of our full-time employees were each paid less than $9000?

Where will your donation mean more? Who needs your support the most, a multi-million dollar organization that has tens of thousands of donors, or an aggressive group like SAEN who survives on the support of a small number of generous individuals? The bottom line is that your donation to SAEN means more to us than it does to almost any other national organization. Your gift is vital to our survival. You are an important part of SAEN, not just one of thousands.

When I receive the next call for help, what will I have to say? Will I be able to keep SAEN committed to the fight for animals? Will we be able to keep pressure on the labs that are abusing primates? All of these things are entirely up to you.

Please send as large a tax-deductible donation as you can afford to Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! Your gift of $25, $50, or $100 will make it possible for us to keep fighting for animals. A special gift of $100, $250, or $1000 will allow us to take on another laboratory that tortures and kills animals.

Without your gift SAEN cannot continue. It is really that simple. Our work is entirely dependent on your support. There is no one else. YOU are an important part of SAEN.