lab monkeys who 'scream with fear'

It opens:
"Secret documents describing how some monkeys can scream in misery, fear and anger during experiments were produced in the high court yesterday as evidence that the laws intended to protect laboratory animals are being flouted.

"Excerpts from Cambridge University internal papers - one of several sites where primate research is carried out - give laboratory technicians and scientists advice on how to deal with problems during and after experiments. Presented in court by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), they describe occasions when primates are 'screaming, trying to get out of the box, defecating', and state: 'This is an angry animal.'"

I think most people, not blinded by investments in the vivisection industry, will be shocked at the suggestion that fellow primates screaming and defecating are angry rather than terrorized and terrified.

The article continues:
"Scientists and technicians are advised in the documents to 'punish' the bad habits of the monkeys, stating that these bad habits include the normal self-grooming.

"Richard Drabble QC, for the BUAV, told the high court yesterday that the documents contradict the general public perception that animals are well cared for and protected under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

"Making an application for judicial review of the legality of lab practices, he also alleged that brain-damaged monkeys at Cambridge were not provided with the 24-hour veterinary care which the government's own guidance states is necessary.

"David Thomas, the solicitor for BUAV, said: "Cambridge staff work 9-5pm, so animals who had just been brain damaged were left overnight without veterinary attention.

"'Some were found to be dead in the morning, some were found to be in a worse condition. Yet there is an obligation of licence holders to keep suffering to a minimum. The whole system is very secretive and the public does not get to see what is really going on.'"

You can read the whole piece on line at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1407818,00.html

Its significance increases when one takes into account the UK's stance that its laboratory animals fall under the world's strictest animal welfare guidelines.

The story, making it clear that the scientist's assurances of humane treatment mean nothing, calls for letters that call for an end to vivisection. The Guardian takes letters at: letters [at] guardian.co.uk and instructs, "We do not publish letters where only an email address is supplied; please include a full postal address and a reference to the relevant article. If you do not want your email address published, please say so. We may edit letters."

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)