The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) is a not-for-profit animal welfare organization founded in 1973 in Thailand by Shirley McGreal. IPPL's main focus is to promote the conservation and protection around the world of all non-human primates (NHP), including apes, monkeys, and lemurs. Coordinating an international network of 15,000 members, IPPL works to curb illegal primate trafficking, intervene in abusive practices, and encourage the efforts of sanctuaries and protection groups worldwide. The organization's main headquarters and gibbon sanctuary was established in the United States in Summerville, South Carolina, in 1977. The now-disbanded British branch, IPPL-UK, was founded in 1977 by Cyril Rosen. As of 2019 IPPL is represented in 31 countries. In countries where NHPs live, IPPL helps create and preserve national parks and sanctuaries and lobbies for bans on hunting and trapping. It raises money to fund sanctuaries, including one for gibbons obtained from research laboratories and zoos. In countries that import NHPs, IPPL monitors the trade and the conditions in which zoo and laboratory NHPs are kept. Over the years, IPPL has exposed illegal animal smuggling rings and poaching operations, as well as challenged major universities, corporations, and even the U.S. military regarding their treatment and use of NHPs. Foundation Shirley McGreal founded IPPL in 1973 while living in Thailand. The new organization took a protective and advocatory stance for the world's primates, questioning and investigating the practices of many organizations involved in import/export, pet trade, transportation, and experimentation, as well as those who dealt in NHPs illegally, such as smugglers and poachers. One of McGreal's first undertakings was to go undercover in Thailand, posing as a potential buyer of smuggled primates. The information she uncovered would later be published in Bangkok newspapers and by the Associated Press. She also worked with university students in Thailand to gather intelligence on living conditions of primates being exported from the country. She reported her findings to the prime minister, who banned the export of primates and many other mammals in 1979. Between 1973 and 1976, McGreal worked with Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai to ban the export of monkeys from India. This was after the Times of India ran an editorial based on press releases from IPPL calling for a ban on primate exports. Bangladesh passed a similar ban shortly after IPPL exposed the practices of unscrupulous laboratories that were conducting experiments on monkeys to test the effects of radiation