It's a Start of Another New Year...

The following quote was taken from PETA's 2008 Victories web page:


2008 - Monkeys Escape Brain Experiments

When PETA learned that six monkeys at New York's Lehman College who were slated for retirement at a sanctuary were instead sold to New York University (NYU) for invasive brain experiments, PETA contacted both Lehman and NYU and mobilized its members with an online action alert. After hearing from thousands of concerned people, NYU announced that it was sending the monkeys to a sanctuary. Wanda, Holly, Jada, Sophie, Samantha, and Lilly are now living together in a group at the sanctuary and will soon be introduced to the other monkeys at the facility.

http://www.peta.org/about/victories_date.asp?page=3&selected_year=2008

Photo obtained from: Victory! Reprieve for NYU Monkeys website: http://blog.peta.org/archives/animal_testing/

Several months ago, we learned Wanda, Holly, Jada, Sophie, Samantha, and Lilly were transferred from NYU to the pseudo-sanctuary in March 2008. We have reason to believe four additional rhesus macaques, Bugs, Sebastian, Prudence, and Miss Banana (B.) Peel, accompanied or arrived about the same time as the six macaques.  Attempts were made to contact PETA and former animal caretakers to find out what was promised to the animals and to give both groups an update on the primates' current conditions.

I finally received a response from PETA this month. PETA claimed they "had nothing to do with choosing placement for these monkeys. Lehman sold them to NYU for use in invasive brain surgery experiments. Lehman had previously promised that the monkeys would be placed in sanctuary so PETA approached both Lehman and NYU and asked them to abide by the experimental protocol and retire the monkeys. NYU chose the sanctuary without consulting PETA. PETA did not contribute money. We don't know how much NYU/Lehman provided. Again, the agreement was not with PETA, but we were told that the monkeys would be placed together in a large enclosure."

Don't you just love it... PETA claimed "victory" for saving the monkeys from NYU, but never bothered to check on where the animals were retired?? Does anyone believe PETA's claim that they had nothing to do with the animals' placement? Assuming PETA even bothered to check on the animals' destination, one would have thought they would have raised a red flag against this relocation. Instead, "victory" was claimed, everyone applauded PETA's actions, and then monkeys were quickly forgotten. No one bothered to go out and check on the primates after their relocation. PETA reported on its blog site the monkeys were to live out their lives at a primate sanctuary when the experiments were completed and reportedly set aside $40,000 for their retirement.

So how was the money that was set aside for the primates, spent? Where are the primates now? Well, Wanda, Holly, Jada, Sophie, Samantha, and Lilly can be seen on tour--not living in a large natural enclosure, but instead in a cage that used to house 2 chimpanzees, a small bear, a yellow-spotted leopard, patas monkeys, a grey languar, and baboons (the well used cage pictured right). If you look real close, you will see a dog bone in the back portion of the cage. I guess dog bones are the latest "enrichment" toys for primates.

So what happened to Bugs, Sebastian, Prudence, and Miss Banana (B.) Peel? Well, in June 2008, the four primates were sedated (Ketamine) by the workers (no vet on hand) and placed into a new enclosure located on the unregulated, non-inspected property. The workers claimed they sedated and moved the primates into their new enclosure in the morning before the temperature soared into the 100's. The workers left the primates to tend to the other animals, and when they returned, three of the primates were found laying in the hot sun, dying. Instead of calling the veterinarian, the workers tried to revive the monkeys themselves, but failed. Two monkeys died that day, and one monkey was allowed to suffer overnight until she finally died the next morning. Only one primate survived the "transfer," and that primate's name was Bugs. Today, I have no idea what happened to Bugs. Since the facility has a policy not to house animals singularly, there is a strong possibility Bugs was killed as well.

From what I understand, the Talley Road animal caretakers have a history of killing macaques  by "accidentally" over sedating the animals as the workers could not accurately determine the monkeys' weight based on sight alone.  And the baboon sedation?  Well, baboons have different sedation requirements for each species (ie. type of drugs used and dosage).  If the animal caretakers used the wrong drugs or dosage on a particular baboon species (ex:  Hamadryas or Olive), then chances are the animals were killed due improper use of drugs. 

And if the animal caretakers are self-medicating/treating injured animals or sedating the pseudo-sanctuary animals without the assistance from a vet, isn't that practicing veterinarian medicine without a license??

Here's the proof the animal caretakers do not want you to see:

MM Allowed Monkeys to Die - 062208

So what happened to Bugs?

MM Allowed Monkeys to Die - 091708

So, congratulations to PETA for their "victory!" Once again, animals were exploited for the purpose of raising money for its organization with absolutely no concern for the health and welfare of the animals they tried to "rescue." Since the six primates living at the touring property live in a transitory cage, I'm sure it won't be long before they disappear to the unregulated, non-inspected property. Then God help them from the tender loving care of sanctuary's animal caretakers.

[Present Day: Bugs was not listed on the WAO's Animal Inventory listing made available to the public as the sanctuary looked relocating its animals due to the sanctuary's closing. Date of the listing was August 23, 2010. It is then fair to assume that Bugs is dead.  Way to go, PETA.
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