Help! Our empathy is missing!

After reading the article Cells That Read Minds (New York Times), I was struck by the fact that there wasn't a single mention of the human ability to "feel" for the monkeys in these experiments.

They mentioned the electrodes, but not the restraint chair or the crainotomy needed to bolt a steel chamber to her head to hold those electrodes. They didn't mention that she was alone in a cage, rather than with other monkeys with whom she could use her mirror neurons.

So, I wrote a little letter to the NY Times...since they never seem to publish what I send them, I'm posting it here for good measure.
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To the Editor,

Your story on mirror neurons and the biology of empathy (Cells that read minds, 1/10) overlooked something conspicuous – our society’s lack of empathy for the monkey strapped into a chair with electrodes stuck in her brain. Despite their bright minds and unique personalities, many primates languish in small laboratory cages where they endure pain, fear, boredom and distress. Mirror neurons also provide vicarious terror when they see other monkeys wrestled from their cages, or injected with drugs, or maybe even killed at the end of an experiment. To see an example of what monkeys in laboratories commonly see, your readers can visit www.covancecruelty.com.

Given all we know about primates, it’s clear that how we keep and use them in labs is replete with ethical problems. If we take a long, hard look at the suffering of laboratory primates, our mirror neurons will tell us it’s time put an end to the cruelty.