NASA lab “humanely euthanized” 27 of its research monkeys in one day due to “advanced age”
All monkeys at a NASA research center were put to death on the same day last year, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
A total of 27 primates from the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., Were euthanized on February 2, 2019, The Guardian reported.
The animals were older and most suffered from Parkinson’s disease, but animal rights activists condemned the decision not to find them a home.
They were not used for research purposes, but were held there by a private drug research company that leased space from Ames.
A congressman has called for an investigation into the reasons the animals were slaughtered.
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All of the monkeys (stock photo) at a NASA research facility were put to death on the same day last year, according to documents obtained in connection with a Freedom of Information Act request.
The animals “suffered from the ethological deprivations and frustrations inherent in laboratory life,” said animal ethics expert John Gluck, who criticized their “elimination instead of the expression of mere decency.”
“Shame on those responsible,” Gluck told the newspaper.
US Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY) told The Guardian she was pushing for “humane retirement policies” for test animals in government labs.
Rice called on NASA chief Jim Bridenstine to investigate the mass euthanasia.
A total of 27 primates at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., Were euthanized on February 2, 2019 (stock)
“I look forward to an explanation from Administrator Bridenstine as to why these animals have been forced to waste away in captivity and be euthanized rather than living their lives in a sanctuary,” Rice told the Guardian.
President Donald’s 2017 appointment of Brindistine drew bipartisan criticism for his lack of science or engineering background and his past denial of man-made climate change.
The United States first killed an ape in the name of space exploration in 1948, a decade before NASA was formed: Albert, a rhesus ape, was launched nearly 39 miles into the atmosphere at board of a V2 rocket.
He died of suffocation during his trip, although scientists argued it was to be able to learn more about the physiological effects of space travel.
Albert II, another rhesus ape, survived his 83-mile-high rocket flight a year later, but died after a parachute failure caused his capsule to crash on Earth.
They were not used for research purposes, but were held there by a private drug research company that leased space from Ames. A congressman called for an investigation into the reasons the animals were slaughtered (file photo)
But the simians euthanized in the center of Silicon Valley were not used to advancing aeronautics. They didn’t even belong to NASA.
They were held there by LifeSource BioMedical, a private drug research company that had rented space on the site.
LifeSource BioMedical director Stephanie Solis said the company agreed to take the monkeys years ago, after their age and declining health made it impossible to find a home.
“We agreed to accept the animals, acting as a sanctuary and providing all care at our expense, until their advanced age and declining health resulted in the decision to humane euthanasia to avoid a poor quality of life. “she said.
Solis said LifeSource had never conducted animal research and insisted they had a “good quality of life remaining.”
A NASA spokesperson told The Guardian that the agency “does not have non-human primates in NASA or NASA-funded facilities.”
According to the US Department of Agriculture, a record 76,000 monkeys were used by biomedical researchers in 2017 alone.
But the US government has moved away from using primates in experiments.
As a result, researchers say there is a shortage to test potential COVID-19 vaccines, according to The Atlantic.
The National Institute of Health stopped using chimpanzees in 2015, and while scientists were able to obtain simian subjects from China, the pandemic halted animal exports.