Monkey madness in new documentary: The Living Weapon

As part of a new documentary called The Living Weapon, PBS has put up several web features. Among these are two declassified films showing primate experiments conducted by the US military.


The first film segment, nearly 10 minutes long, shows experiments where over 100 rhesus monkeys and an unknown number of squirrel monkeys are injected with Botulinum toxin. Even before the experiments begin, the monkeys appear fearful and anxious. After they are poisoned, they become weak, froth at the mouth, gasp for air. Most eventually die because they can no longer breathe.

The other film segment about primates shows an experiment where monkeys are poisoned with enterotoxin, which is a common cause of food poisoning.

"He becomes bewildered and depressed. And, as the intoxication progresses, the animal's depression intensifies leading sometimes to prostration," said the film narrator.

The monkeys appear to be tethered by chains around their necks. Before being sprayed with an aerosolized form of the toxin, the monkeys are put into a restraining box, leaving only their heads free.

The narrator notes that several of the experimenters were made ill during the early portions of the experiment because they breathed toxin from residues in the monkeys' fur. He also noted that some animals were killed by impurities in the substances used to poison the monkeys.


Watch declassified films of primate experiments at The Living Weapon website