Guest guest Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 The US of A is the biggest market for most things - including lab monkeys, captive wildlife and live animals exported for meat. Animal Rights groups in the USA must mount a campaign against the import of animals. Asian nations which are more interested in money than morality will keep supplying animals as long as there is a market for them. While the tiger is disappearing from its natural habitat, it is thriving in China's illegal tiger farms. And so on. If the market dries up, so will the supply. USA must stop the import of monkeys for research labs. Nanditha Krishna On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 10:40 AM, John Wedderburn <john wrote: > > > > http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?\ vgnextoid=6484449c6be93210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD & ss=China & s=News#Top > > South China Sunday Post Magazine > > Made to suffer: Exporting primates for research > > The mainland is quickly and quietly becoming the world's leading breeder of > primates destined for laboratory research. The country has many factory > farms devoted to the business > > By Richard Jones > Sep 13, 2009 | > > Thousands of tiny hands grip the cage bars. Their resemblance to those of > children is discomforting - but a similarity to humankind is the reason > their possessors are here. > > Cage after cage in row after row stretch along the subtropical valley > floor. > Inside sit long-tailed macaques: the favoured monkey of the vivisectionist > because they are small and easily handled. The creatures look like they > know > what their future holds; wide-eyed they cower at the back of their cages, > already terrified of human contact. Mothers clutch babies in their sterile > prisons, their fate etched in code on metal discs that hang around their > necks. > > The monkeys' short lives will come to an end in laboratories in Europe, the > United States and Japan; their torture the dark side of advances in science > and medicine. > > When complete, at the end of the year, this monkey farm, north of > Guangzhou, > will be the biggest in the world, able to house 50,000 primates. The > facility is being built in some secrecy in Conghua county by Blooming > Spring > Biological Technology Development. > > The location was well chosen; it is obscured by a hill, invisible from a > nearby highway and within 30 minutes of an international airport. The cages > are hidden in a pink-tiled compound more than a kilometre in length that is > surrounded by a three-metre-high wall. Inside, scientists scurry about in > white coats. > > The mainland has been quickly and quietly building monkey farms since about > 2000, when breeding stock was imported from Cambodia. The mainland now has > 39 farms, most of which are licensed to breed for the lucrative export > trade. Although numbers are difficult to ascertain, official figures - > along > with those from US sources and this investigation - suggest there are more > than 200,000 captive primates on the mainland. Official figures last year > put the number of monkeys in farms licensed for export at 170,000. > > Guarded and gated, the farm compounds have been built in dead-end valleys, > jungle clearings and even on an island. Visitors are not welcome and > journalists are despised only slightly less than animal-rights activists. > > " How did you find this place? " demands a security guard at the anonymous > entrance to the Blooming Spring farm, which has the appearance of a > nondescript factory. By searching country lanes and questioning locals for > two days is the answer, but we do not give it. > > " No one comes here, " says the guard, calling through to a superior. " No > visitors are allowed here. " > > The guard's boss, who introduces himself as " Supervisor Deng " and seems > ever > alert for potential buyers, is more welcoming. He drives us through the > facility in a black jeep. > > " We have bought that hillside, " he says, nodding to his right. " Soon it > will > also be covered in cages. We have our own water supply and feeding > facilities here for up to 50,000 monkeys. " > > The DNA of long-Tailed macaques and other primates is about 96 per cent > identical to that of humans, making their bodies an accurate testing ground > for scientific procedures and drugs prior to them being declared safe for > humans. Research that even a generation ago would have seemed whimsical - > into gene therapy, cures for cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, stem > cells > and antibody-based treatments - requires a lot of testing; on monkeys. > > Figures published in July show British scientists carried out 4,598 > experiments on primates last year, a 16 per cent rise on 2007. The US is > the > world's largest consumer of lab monkeys; 2007 figures (the most recent > available) total 69,990 primates - an all-time high. The British Union for > the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) claims about 90,000 monkeys are used > annually worldwide. > > Increasingly these animals are coming from the mainland. Eighteen thousand > long-tailed macaques were exported from the country to the US last year. > Many of these monkeys, the BUAV claims, are " torn from the wild " , a > practice > forbidden by European law. A film taken this year and screened on the > BUAV's > website shows Cambodian traders capturing and bagging macaques for sale to > farms that trade with the mainland. > > The organisation's director of special projects, Sarah Kite, says, " The > BUAV > investigation exposed the shocking cruelty inflicted on wild monkeys during > their capture, handling and subsequent confinement in small plastic bags > and > storage under the planks of a boat. > > " BUAV investigators filmed trappers as they illegally hunted primates in > the > swamps and jungles of Cambodia, including inside a specially protected > wetland nature reserve. " > > Shirley McGreal, director of the International Primate Protection League > (IPPL), says, " The animal farms are sucking up monkeys from Cambodia and > Vietnam and there is no question that they are getting them illegally. The > US Fisheries and Wildlife Service has ongoing investigations into the > sources of monkeys coming from China. > > " The trade is an ugly one and we foresee a future where monkeys are wiped > from the face of the earth. In 30 years or so there will be no primates > available [in the wild]. " > > Conservation International, a non-governmental organisation that promotes > biodiversity and world conservation, reported last year that 11 of the > world's 25 most endangered primates are native to Asia. > > The mainland's farmed monkey population needs to be continually replenished > to ensure a strong genetic base and prevent inbreeding. Dr Yue Feng, > general > manager of a Nanning bioengineering firm and spokesman for the Primates > Biotechnology Research and Development Centre, says, " It is necessary to go > to the origin of the crab-eating monkeys [long-tailed macaques] to find > some > better quality monkeys " to introduce into the farmed populations, an > admission offered up repeatedly by monkey farmers. > > A long-awaited vote on the use of laboratory animals in the European Union > in May proved a major disappointment for animal-rights groups. Big > pharmaceutical companies and scientific establishments spent fortunes > lobbying politicians to ensure there were no big changes to the law. > European scientists argue that restrictions on using primates would give > researchers in the US an advantage. > > Scientists are adamant that the use of primates is essential. Oxford > University neuroscientist Tipu Aziz told a preliminary meeting of European > parliamentarians that a ban would force him to abandon research that could > lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's, motor neurone disease, strokes and > many other illnesses. Aziz's research on monkeys taught him how to insert > electrodes into the brains of Parkinson's sufferers, delivering instant > relief. > > Despite their victory in the European Parliament, it appears some > pharmaceutical companies are planning ahead, hedging their bets in case a > future vote goes against them. > > McGreal says she was told by a spokesman for a large pharmaceutical company > that his company was setting up a lab on the mainland, in which 7,500 > monkeys would be housed. > > " He told us that the feeble oversight of animal facilities in China and the > cheap workforce meant it was easy and cheap for them to operate in China, " > she says. > > A report released by the Chinese delegation at a Convention on > International > Trade in Endangered Species meeting in Mexico last year stated: " Because of > the high cost of maintaining laboratory animals and the animal welfare > issue, many companies in developed countries want to move their animal > experiments overseas, especially to the developing countries. " > > The mainland could make a lot of money experimenting on monkeys on behalf > of > other countries. Overseas researchers would be able to work in a country > that has no animal-welfare laws and in which animal-rights groups would > find > it almost impossible and unlawful to operate. > > But, for now, mainland businessmen are concentrating on breeding monkeys > for > export. > > An enterprising Fujian province zookeeper, Yu Zhengyang, 38, became a > monkey > trader when he decided there was no money to be made in public zoos. He now > breeds rhesus macaques, the second-most sought after primate for testing, > which he sells on to labs. > > " Domestic scientific research units demand more than 10,000 rhesus monkeys > annually, " he says. " There is no doubt that the market potential is great. > I > bought my first 70 monkeys at 5,000 yuan [HK$5,680] each and can sell > `cultured' animals for 10,000 yuan each. I have around 200 monkeys and in > two or three years I hope to have 700 and be the biggest farm in Fujian > province. " > > The price paid for " cultured " (healthy and pathogen-free) monkeys when > exported runs at between US$2,000 and US$3,000 each - equating to a market > that runs into hundreds of millions of US dollars. > > The monkey farms are mostly located in remote areas of Guangxi, Yunnan and > Guangdong provinces. The hot, humid, bamboo-covered hills of Conghua county > are home to at least four such operations. > > One of the country's oldest farms is located on a jungle-covered island in > the middle of the Mekong River, in Xishuangbanna prefecture, on the border > with Vietnam. The farm breeds 14 species of monkey and a research worker at > the facility claims it exports the primates to Britain and is also carrying > out a " big research project " for an American concern. > > Blooming Spring chairman Deng Zhuobiao is keen to show off his > headquarters, > about 20 kilometres from the new farm complex. He's proud of the fact his > monkeys are sold " overseas only " . > > " Business has been growing steadily for the past four years. I have a lot > of > confidence in the future of this business, " he says as he gives us a brief > tour. > > The quarantine room houses 368 stainless-steel cages. " We have three rooms > like this, " says Deng. " The facility could push out 1,104 monkeys every 60 > days. " > > Next come the labs in which the monkeys are tested to ensure they are > disease-free, followed by cage upon cage of petrified animals, many > carrying > babies. Before we leave the facility Deng shows us his export licence and > breeding certificate. > > " We already do business with some very big US companies, " he says, " and we > export to Europe. " > > Deng also stresses that Blooming Spring is applying for recognition by the > Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, > which would permit it to carry out experiments for international > organisations. > > " With the government behind us it makes things very easy, " says Deng, the > supervisor. " Things have loosened up with the current economy. The > government wants us to succeed. " > > At the Conghua Yueyuan Laboratory Animal Breeding Farm, about 30 kilometres > from the Blooming Spring farm, the chief veterinary surgeon, a Mr Li, > explains that only about two yuan is spent per day on the upkeep of monkeys > that fetch at least US$2,000 when they are exported. > > " Our biggest overseas customer is an American company involved in both > cosmetic and pharmaceutical businesses, " says Li. " They buy at least 500 > monkeys every year. That's US$1 million right there. We also have customers > in South Korea and Germany. " > > A Blooming Spring worker says monkeys are transported 180 at a time in > specially made metre-long plastic crates. " We have to give them space or > the > animal-welfare people overseas complain. " > > According to Michael Budkie of the NGO Stop Animal Exploitation Now, the > " hellish conditions " monkeys are subjected to in mainland farms is " nothing > compared with what they will experience once they arrive in the US " . > > Budkie, who has been investigating conditions in US animal laboratories for > more than 20 years, says macaques from the mainland are used in a variety > of > experiments, including brain-mapping and research into drug abuse, and will > be infected with " any number " of diseases. > > " The monkeys are trained [to carry out repetitive tasks] using water > deprivation for up to 22 hours at a time, " says Budkie, explaining the > brain-mapping tests. " They are put in restraint chairs, a hole is cut into > their skull and electrodes are hard-wired into their brain. The research > goes on for several years - if they can keep the animals alive that long. > > " Drug research involves force-feeding them heroin, cocaine and PCP and then > examining withdrawal. The monkeys are placed alone in stainless-steel cages > that are just nine square feet, " he says. " There are no stimuli for the > macaques, which are normally social animals - they literally go insane. > Drug > addiction therapy can continue for 10 years, the longest was 14 years. " > > However, most export monkeys, having been selected for quarantine when they > are between one and three years old, won't have to suffer for that long. > " Most are dead within a year of arriving in the US, " says McGreal. > > It is an open secret that the US Defence Department is one of the monkey > farms' biggest clients. " The monkeys are used in bio-warfare weapons > research, " says McGreal. " They are poisoned with rycin, sarin, anthrax, > even > Ebola. We attended a conference for an institute of lab science and a lady > from the defence department was quite candid about the suffering the > monkeys > go through. They only put them out of their misery right at the end, she > told us. " > > Back at the Conghua Yueyuan farm, Li tries to interest us in a business > proposition. " If you wanted to set-up as a monkey exporting agent for the > UK > you can make yourself some good money, " he says. " We will do all of the > hard > work and you can just communicate with the UK labs and make yourself easy > money. > > " I have no doubt in my mind that China will soon be the most important > exporter of lab monkeys in the world. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Well, with Shirley�s and thousands of other�s help, we shut down the only farm here in Nepal. I guess just do the same, but multiply the effort by 39x or more, and pressure could be put on the Chinese government to close them all down. Hmmm...that might be difficult, as china.gov is a tough nut to crack. There is a lot of competition amongst Chinese demonstrators these days eh? And support from us.gov wont� be forthcoming on this one, but letters to the US Fisheries and Wildlife Service can�t hurt, as they seem to alarmed. Anyway, go Shirley! Jigs in Nepal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Dear Madam, Whilst I agree with the general drift of your views, I would like to make the following comments: 1) Tiger farms in China are legal and are operating with governmental consent. It remains to be seen how the new legislation could affect them. 2) I am not aware of any certified evidence that says wild caught tigers from India have been used to augment the tiger population in Chinese farms. I hasten to add this is not to say that the Chinese tiger farms do not impact wild tigers in India, but I have not come across a document that establishes a link in live tiger trafficking between India and China for Chinese tiger farms. If you have any information on this aspect of tiger trade between India and China, please do share it with us. Regards, On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Nanditha krishna < drnandithakrishna wrote: > > > The US of A is the biggest market for most things - including lab monkeys, > captive wildlife and live animals exported for meat. > > Animal Rights groups in the USA must mount a campaign against the import of > animals. Asian nations which are more interested in money than morality > will > keep supplying animals as long as there is a market for them. While the > tiger > is disappearing from its natural habitat, it is thriving in China's illegal > tiger farms. And so on. > > If the market dries up, so will the supply. USA must stop the import of > monkeys for research labs. > > Nanditha Krishna > > > On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 10:40 AM, John Wedderburn <john<john%40aapn.org>> > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?\ vgnextoid=6484449c6be93210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD & ss=China & s=News#Top > > > > South China Sunday Post Magazine > > > > Made to suffer: Exporting primates for research > > > > The mainland is quickly and quietly becoming the world's leading breeder > of > > primates destined for laboratory research. The country has many factory > > farms devoted to the business > > > > By Richard Jones > > Sep 13, 2009 | > > > > Thousands of tiny hands grip the cage bars. Their resemblance to those of > > children is discomforting - but a similarity to humankind is the reason > > their possessors are here. > > > > Cage after cage in row after row stretch along the subtropical valley > > floor. > > Inside sit long-tailed macaques: the favoured monkey of the > vivisectionist > > because they are small and easily handled. The creatures look like they > > know > > what their future holds; wide-eyed they cower at the back of their cages, > > already terrified of human contact. Mothers clutch babies in their > sterile > > prisons, their fate etched in code on metal discs that hang around their > > necks. > > > > The monkeys' short lives will come to an end in laboratories in Europe, > the > > United States and Japan; their torture the dark side of advances in > science > > and medicine. > > > > When complete, at the end of the year, this monkey farm, north of > > Guangzhou, > > will be the biggest in the world, able to house 50,000 primates. The > > facility is being built in some secrecy in Conghua county by Blooming > > Spring > > Biological Technology Development. > > > > The location was well chosen; it is obscured by a hill, invisible from a > > nearby highway and within 30 minutes of an international airport. The > cages > > are hidden in a pink-tiled compound more than a kilometre in length that > is > > surrounded by a three-metre-high wall. Inside, scientists scurry about in > > white coats. > > > > The mainland has been quickly and quietly building monkey farms since > about > > 2000, when breeding stock was imported from Cambodia. The mainland now > has > > 39 farms, most of which are licensed to breed for the lucrative export > > trade. Although numbers are difficult to ascertain, official figures - > > along > > with those from US sources and this investigation - suggest there are > more > > than 200,000 captive primates on the mainland. Official figures last year > > put the number of monkeys in farms licensed for export at 170,000. > > > > Guarded and gated, the farm compounds have been built in dead-end > valleys, > > jungle clearings and even on an island. Visitors are not welcome and > > journalists are despised only slightly less than animal-rights activists. > > > > " How did you find this place? " demands a security guard at the anonymous > > entrance to the Blooming Spring farm, which has the appearance of a > > nondescript factory. By searching country lanes and questioning locals > for > > two days is the answer, but we do not give it. > > > > " No one comes here, " says the guard, calling through to a superior. " No > > visitors are allowed here. " > > > > The guard's boss, who introduces himself as " Supervisor Deng " and seems > > ever > > alert for potential buyers, is more welcoming. He drives us through the > > facility in a black jeep. > > > > " We have bought that hillside, " he says, nodding to his right. " Soon it > > will > > also be covered in cages. We have our own water supply and feeding > > facilities here for up to 50,000 monkeys. " > > > > The DNA of long-Tailed macaques and other primates is about 96 per cent > > identical to that of humans, making their bodies an accurate testing > ground > > for scientific procedures and drugs prior to them being declared safe for > > humans. Research that even a generation ago would have seemed whimsical - > > into gene therapy, cures for cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, stem > > cells > > and antibody-based treatments - requires a lot of testing; on monkeys. > > > > Figures published in July show British scientists carried out 4,598 > > experiments on primates last year, a 16 per cent rise on 2007. The US is > > the > > world's largest consumer of lab monkeys; 2007 figures (the most recent > > available) total 69,990 primates - an all-time high. The British Union > for > > the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) claims about 90,000 monkeys are used > > annually worldwide. > > > > Increasingly these animals are coming from the mainland. Eighteen > thousand > > long-tailed macaques were exported from the country to the US last year. > > Many of these monkeys, the BUAV claims, are " torn from the wild " , a > > practice > > forbidden by European law. A film taken this year and screened on the > > BUAV's > > website shows Cambodian traders capturing and bagging macaques for sale > to > > farms that trade with the mainland. > > > > The organisation's director of special projects, Sarah Kite, says, " The > > BUAV > > investigation exposed the shocking cruelty inflicted on wild monkeys > during > > their capture, handling and subsequent confinement in small plastic bags > > and > > storage under the planks of a boat. > > > > " BUAV investigators filmed trappers as they illegally hunted primates in > > the > > swamps and jungles of Cambodia, including inside a specially protected > > wetland nature reserve. " > > > > Shirley McGreal, director of the International Primate Protection League > > (IPPL), says, " The animal farms are sucking up monkeys from Cambodia and > > Vietnam and there is no question that they are getting them illegally. > The > > US Fisheries and Wildlife Service has ongoing investigations into the > > sources of monkeys coming from China. > > > > " The trade is an ugly one and we foresee a future where monkeys are wiped > > from the face of the earth. In 30 years or so there will be no primates > > available [in the wild]. " > > > > Conservation International, a non-governmental organisation that promotes > > biodiversity and world conservation, reported last year that 11 of the > > world's 25 most endangered primates are native to Asia. > > > > The mainland's farmed monkey population needs to be continually > replenished > > to ensure a strong genetic base and prevent inbreeding. Dr Yue Feng, > > general > > manager of a Nanning bioengineering firm and spokesman for the Primates > > Biotechnology Research and Development Centre, says, " It is necessary to > go > > to the origin of the crab-eating monkeys [long-tailed macaques] to find > > some > > better quality monkeys " to introduce into the farmed populations, an > > admission offered up repeatedly by monkey farmers. > > > > A long-awaited vote on the use of laboratory animals in the European > Union > > in May proved a major disappointment for animal-rights groups. Big > > pharmaceutical companies and scientific establishments spent fortunes > > lobbying politicians to ensure there were no big changes to the law. > > European scientists argue that restrictions on using primates would give > > researchers in the US an advantage. > > > > Scientists are adamant that the use of primates is essential. Oxford > > University neuroscientist Tipu Aziz told a preliminary meeting of > European > > parliamentarians that a ban would force him to abandon research that > could > > lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's, motor neurone disease, strokes > and > > many other illnesses. Aziz's research on monkeys taught him how to insert > > electrodes into the brains of Parkinson's sufferers, delivering instant > > relief. > > > > Despite their victory in the European Parliament, it appears some > > pharmaceutical companies are planning ahead, hedging their bets in case a > > future vote goes against them. > > > > McGreal says she was told by a spokesman for a large pharmaceutical > company > > that his company was setting up a lab on the mainland, in which 7,500 > > monkeys would be housed. > > > > " He told us that the feeble oversight of animal facilities in China and > the > > cheap workforce meant it was easy and cheap for them to operate in > China, " > > she says. > > > > A report released by the Chinese delegation at a Convention on > > International > > Trade in Endangered Species meeting in Mexico last year stated: " Because > of > > the high cost of maintaining laboratory animals and the animal welfare > > issue, many companies in developed countries want to move their animal > > experiments overseas, especially to the developing countries. " > > > > The mainland could make a lot of money experimenting on monkeys on behalf > > of > > other countries. Overseas researchers would be able to work in a country > > that has no animal-welfare laws and in which animal-rights groups would > > find > > it almost impossible and unlawful to operate. > > > > But, for now, mainland businessmen are concentrating on breeding monkeys > > for > > export. > > > > An enterprising Fujian province zookeeper, Yu Zhengyang, 38, became a > > monkey > > trader when he decided there was no money to be made in public zoos. He > now > > breeds rhesus macaques, the second-most sought after primate for testing, > > which he sells on to labs. > > > > " Domestic scientific research units demand more than 10,000 rhesus > monkeys > > annually, " he says. " There is no doubt that the market potential is > great. > > I > > bought my first 70 monkeys at 5,000 yuan [HK$5,680] each and can sell > > `cultured' animals for 10,000 yuan each. I have around 200 monkeys and in > > two or three years I hope to have 700 and be the biggest farm in Fujian > > province. " > > > > The price paid for " cultured " (healthy and pathogen-free) monkeys when > > exported runs at between US$2,000 and US$3,000 each - equating to a > market > > that runs into hundreds of millions of US dollars. > > > > The monkey farms are mostly located in remote areas of Guangxi, Yunnan > and > > Guangdong provinces. The hot, humid, bamboo-covered hills of Conghua > county > > are home to at least four such operations. > > > > One of the country's oldest farms is located on a jungle-covered island > in > > the middle of the Mekong River, in Xishuangbanna prefecture, on the > border > > with Vietnam. The farm breeds 14 species of monkey and a research worker > at > > the facility claims it exports the primates to Britain and is also > carrying > > out a " big research project " for an American concern. > > > > Blooming Spring chairman Deng Zhuobiao is keen to show off his > > headquarters, > > about 20 kilometres from the new farm complex. He's proud of the fact his > > monkeys are sold " overseas only " . > > > > " Business has been growing steadily for the past four years. I have a lot > > of > > confidence in the future of this business, " he says as he gives us a > brief > > tour. > > > > The quarantine room houses 368 stainless-steel cages. " We have three > rooms > > like this, " says Deng. " The facility could push out 1,104 monkeys every > 60 > > days. " > > > > Next come the labs in which the monkeys are tested to ensure they are > > disease-free, followed by cage upon cage of petrified animals, many > > carrying > > babies. Before we leave the facility Deng shows us his export licence and > > breeding certificate. > > > > " We already do business with some very big US companies, " he says, " and > we > > export to Europe. " > > > > Deng also stresses that Blooming Spring is applying for recognition by > the > > Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, > > which would permit it to carry out experiments for international > > organisations. > > > > " With the government behind us it makes things very easy, " says Deng, the > > supervisor. " Things have loosened up with the current economy. The > > government wants us to succeed. " > > > > At the Conghua Yueyuan Laboratory Animal Breeding Farm, about 30 > kilometres > > from the Blooming Spring farm, the chief veterinary surgeon, a Mr Li, > > explains that only about two yuan is spent per day on the upkeep of > monkeys > > that fetch at least US$2,000 when they are exported. > > > > " Our biggest overseas customer is an American company involved in both > > cosmetic and pharmaceutical businesses, " says Li. " They buy at least 500 > > monkeys every year. That's US$1 million right there. We also have > customers > > in South Korea and Germany. " > > > > A Blooming Spring worker says monkeys are transported 180 at a time in > > specially made metre-long plastic crates. " We have to give them space or > > the > > animal-welfare people overseas complain. " > > > > According to Michael Budkie of the NGO Stop Animal Exploitation Now, the > > " hellish conditions " monkeys are subjected to in mainland farms is > " nothing > > compared with what they will experience once they arrive in the US " . > > > > Budkie, who has been investigating conditions in US animal laboratories > for > > more than 20 years, says macaques from the mainland are used in a variety > > of > > experiments, including brain-mapping and research into drug abuse, and > will > > be infected with " any number " of diseases. > > > > " The monkeys are trained [to carry out repetitive tasks] using water > > deprivation for up to 22 hours at a time, " says Budkie, explaining the > > brain-mapping tests. " They are put in restraint chairs, a hole is cut > into > > their skull and electrodes are hard-wired into their brain. The research > > goes on for several years - if they can keep the animals alive that long. > > > > " Drug research involves force-feeding them heroin, cocaine and PCP and > then > > examining withdrawal. The monkeys are placed alone in stainless-steel > cages > > that are just nine square feet, " he says. " There are no stimuli for the > > macaques, which are normally social animals - they literally go insane. > > Drug > > addiction therapy can continue for 10 years, the longest was 14 years. " > > > > However, most export monkeys, having been selected for quarantine when > they > > are between one and three years old, won't have to suffer for that long. > > " Most are dead within a year of arriving in the US, " says McGreal. > > > > It is an open secret that the US Defence Department is one of the monkey > > farms' biggest clients. " The monkeys are used in bio-warfare weapons > > research, " says McGreal. " They are poisoned with rycin, sarin, anthrax, > > even > > Ebola. We attended a conference for an institute of lab science and a > lady > > from the defence department was quite candid about the suffering the > > monkeys > > go through. They only put them out of their misery right at the end, she > > told us. " > > > > Back at the Conghua Yueyuan farm, Li tries to interest us in a business > > proposition. " If you wanted to set-up as a monkey exporting agent for the > > UK > > you can make yourself some good money, " he says. " We will do all of the > > hard > > work and you can just communicate with the UK labs and make yourself easy > > money. > > > > " I have no doubt in my mind that China will soon be the most important > > exporter of lab monkeys in the world. " > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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