Guest guest Posted December 3, 2002 Report Share Posted December 3, 2002 Article from the Daily Mail, UK, concerning the monkey breeding facility in Yunnan Province. Dave Neale UK Director - Animals Asia Foundation > > MONKEY HELL IN CHINA > > Daily Mail - ENGLAND > > 27 November 2002 > > > > Bred in appalling conditions, packed together in > > mile after mile of cages in a Chinese compound, > > these chained monkeys â? " the nearest primates to us > > â^' are destined for an agonising death in animal > > testing laboratories in Britain and the West. > > > > Thousands of hands, disturbingly humanlike, cling to > > the bars and grilles of their cages; they seem to > > know that an unpleasant destiny awaits them. Others > > cower at the back of their cages, petrified of any > > human contact. > > > > Their existence is defined by a round brass disc > > that hangs from their necks bearing their species, > > age and details of their breeding history. > > > > This is Monkey Hill in southwest China, one of the > > worldâ?Ts biggest breeding centres for primates, > > which are sold to research labs all over the world. > > > > And there is an insatiable demand for the results of > > this miserable production line. > > > > We live in an age where medicine is producing > > advances that a generation ago were unimaginable. > > > > Gene therapy, hopes of cures for Parkinsonâ?Ts > > disease and Alzheimerâ?Ts, innovative cancer > > treatmentsâ? " almost every month comes a report of > > yet another treatment that may offer hope to the > > most intractable cases. > > > > Yet all this progress has a price. Put bluntly, much > > of todayâ?Ts medical research would not be possible > > without testing on live animals. > > > > These pictures taken at Monkey Hillâ? " officially > > called the Yunnan National Lab Primate Centre of > > Chinaâ? " are evidence of an industrial breeding > > programme of species that are, say animal welfare > > experts, worryingly close to humans, and able to > > experience suffering much as we do. > > > > Inside, the noise is terrible. Every time a worker > > approaches, the monkeys scream piteously and cower > > in groups, clinging to one another, until the worker > > moves on. > > > > One rhesus monkey, Ling Ling, has been sick for > > weeks, according to his caretakers. > > > > Ling Ling is a member of the performance troupe for > > the visitorsâ?T wing; some of the monkeys earn their > > living entertaining tourists, and Ling Ling has been > > trained to do tricks such as playing basketball and > > climbing ladders to amuse the crowds. > > > > Undignified this may be, but he is one of the lucky > > ones. He will escape the fate that awaits the > > others. > > > > Monkey Hill has facilities to breed up to 7,000 > > monkeys (breed stock is taken from local wild monkey > > populations, which are in serious decline) and > > exports 1,000 a year to Europe and America for > > biomedical research. > > > > Most exports involve two species: Rhesus monkeys are > > bred for pharmaceutical research laboratories > > because of their close genetic relationship to > > humans, and the red-faced macaque is sold to the > > cosmetic industry, which favours them for their > > delicate and sensitive facial tissue. After being > > flown to foreign laboratoriesâ? " spending up to 70 > > hours in the hold of an airlinerâ? " the monkeys are > > likely to face an endless series of experimental > > tests. > > > > â?~Thatâ?Ts where the real money comes fromâ?T, said > > the centreâ?Ts Hao Yushou, pointing past locked > > steel gates and barbed-wire fences. > > > > â?~They breed laboratory monkeys for export to the > > United States at around 21,000 eachâ? " thatâ?Ts a lot > > of cash.â?T > > > > Hundreds of steel cages snake up and down Monkey > > Hill for the better part of a mile, protected by > > walls crested with broken glass. > > > > It takes an army of feeders and cleaners simply to > > keep the thousands of monkeys alive. However, the > > animals are never held or caressed. > > > > Yang Shentu, chief breeder and â?~king of the > > hillâ?T, explains, â?~We have to ensure minimal > > human-animal contact; the labs in the United States > > and Europe have very strict standards for > > disease-free animalsâ?T. > > > > Here in Britain, the RSPCA is deeply concerned about > > the breeding and importing of primates for use in > > research because of the degree of suffering endured > > by these highly intelligent animals. > > > > Yet around 8,000â? " including 1,500 imported from > > overseasâ? " are used in experiments every year in the > > UK alone. > > > > Modern medicine is a wonderful thing, and few would > > deny that animal experiments are necessary if we are > > going to find cures for some of our most terrible > > diseases, but as these pictures show, it is > > humankindâ?Ts cousins who must suffer on our behalf. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Everything you'll ever need on one web page > from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts > http://uk.my. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.