One year ago: traumatic experiences linked to disease

One year ago I wrote about a study that linked trauma during childhood to increased risk for certain diseases later in life. The study in question was done in humans and I compared that research paradigm with the cruel experiments done on animals to imitate child abuse and neglect.

By comparison, other perhaps less creative and certainly less compassionate people try to create animal "models" of child abuse and neglect by subjecting baby animals to maternal deprivation or by purposefully taking healthy babies and putting them with aggressive adults. If the baby animals used in these terrible experiments survive, they suffer from a range of physical and psychological pathologies, conditions that are rarely acknowledged or treated. The outcome has many similarities to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Studies that explicitly examine post-traumatic symptoms in elephants, chimpanzees and other animals only serve to bolster this claim.

Revisit the original story to read more about the trauma-disease link.

Trauma in early life, disease in later life

Letter in USA Today on chimpanzees

The online edition of USA Today (12/26) includes a letter to the editor about chimpanzees that I submitted earlier this month: Experiments Extreme

They accept reader comments (with login) and the Maven always welcomes ratings / social bookmarks.

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How chimps are treated is not smart

A recent study done in Japan has shown that chimpanzees outperform college students on certain cognitive tests. In response to broad news coverage of this story, I wrote an opinion piece (here titled "How chimps are treated is not smart"), which juxtaposes the bright minds of our great ape cousins with the mistreatment and suffering endured by those imprisoned in US labs.

Monkey's eye view of freedom

I stumbled across this photo today quite by accident. And I thought, "Look at all of it." You just have to see it.

photo by stig nygaard

A mind that evolved in such and expansive and complex environment is undoubtedly ill-equipped for this:

A word that meant the opposite of expansive couldn't even begin to describe it. Inimical. Cruel.

Washoe's legacy and a call to compassion

I was deeply saddened by the recent news of the death of Washoe, a chimpanzee who lived at the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute in Ellensburg, WA for many years. Her passing is cause to reflect and inspiration for an op-ed (Here with the header "Legacy for Washoe") that I wrote about Washoe last week.

Some people writing about her death have claimed that she changed what it meant to be human – that she changed our society. That, I suppose, is true – but there is more to that lesson. Washoe also helped us see what it means to be chimpanzee. When she spoke her mind, signing about her wants and needs, playing jokes or tricks, showing empathy, she embodied a message of compassion – one that we have not fully heard.

Her life "spoke" of chimpanzee-hood, humanity and compassion. Not in the figurative way that Kafka envisioned when he wrote of Red Peter. But literally - when she joked, fibbed, comiserated, threw tantrums - she challenged us all to think differently (bigger?) about the minds of nonhuman animals. She will be missed.

In light of the lessons taught by Washoe, her fellow signing apes, and all that we know about chimpanzees, we must now realize that how we currently keep and treat chimpanzees in U.S. laboratories is replete with ethical problems. It's time for the United States to join nations all over the world, from Austria to Liberia and New Zealand, that have banned experiments on chimpanzees. It is the right and compassionate thing to do. I'm sure that Washoe would have signed that she agreed.

For more information, see the tribute site, CHCI, Friends of Washoe.

AFP: Bounty for 'gangster' monkeys terrorising tourists at Cambodian temple

AFP: Bounty for 'gangster' monkeys terrorising tourists at Cambodian temple

They acknowledge that there are just a few aggressive animals - about 1% or so of the total there. There's no evidence of a program of capture here, or other humane options. What of the 197 monkeys who are "afraid" and not causing problems? Will they be killed by mercenaries looking for a few bucks?

(Alleged) Gorilla trafficking ring busted

News | Africa - Reuters.com
From the article:

"Poachers and gunmen have killed at least nine mountain gorillas this year and a possible revival in trafficking poses another threat to the mighty beasts, of whom just 700 remain, spread between Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda."

Read more online: Congo rangers break suspected gorilla traffic ring

Monkey Business in Malaysia

Controversy surrounding the capture and export of long-tailed macaques for meat and experimentation continues. The status and scope of the ban have been described variously. What is certain, is that the fate of the monkeys who have been captured or may soon be captured will be miserable. This news article summarizes some of the key issues.

The Malaysia Star has a brand new article that is rich with facts and figures about how many monkeys are imported into the US and how many may be subject to capture, sale and misery if it is not possible to negotiate on alternative approaches such as community education, sterilization and other options. Dr. Shirley McGreal, Founder and Chairwoman of the International Primate Protection League cuts right to the chase when talking about the suffering monkeys endure in experimentation. And given the numbers reported, it could happen on an enormous scale.

McGreal said Malaysians needed to know that indigenous monkeys from the country were likely to be sold to these labs.

“They will suffer horribly during the laboratory experiment. There is no way of conducting research humanely when dealing with biological warfare agents.”

As long-tailed macaque is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), Perhilitan has produced a non-detrimental finding (NDF) to show that the trade will not have a deleterious effect on the species’ survival.

According to the NDF, there are 258,406 macaques in urban areas and 483,747 at forest fringes.

These figures represent more than 10 and 20 times respectively of the total number of monkeys imported into the US in 2006.

Full text of the article Monkey Business.

Related article: Making a quick buck

The AWA: Fostering mediocrity and suffering

Many moons ago when I worked at an unnamed insurance company, they actually did time motion studies of the workers to figure out how long it “should” take to adjust a hospital claim, for example. They’d send a special engineer down to watch you with a stopwatch and check sheet. “Now tell me what you do when you get a durable medical equipment claim? How many do you see each week? Why did you route that claim for utilization review?”

The more I was treated like a cog, and the less my thinking was valued, the more I performed like the “average” employee - something I was not. I stopped wearing suits and volunteering to be on committees, taking extra classes, etc. I started wearing stretch pants and sweaters and paced myself so that I did exactly the number of things that I needed to do to be “within range.” I volunteered for lay offs when they announced a merger. And when I didn’t get that lay off, I staged even more of “slow down.” Average is easy, but it's boring and soul-killing. Eventually I was released from Bare Minimum Corp. I embarked on 10 years of education - where life can be about more than "average."

I’m really not interested in working in an environment like that ever again. Any system based on achieving minimum performance will consistently produce minimum performance. Take the Animal Welfare Act for example. The Act more or less states that if facilities make cages this big, keep this paper work, file these reports, etc., they are fine. There’s no “excellent,” there’s just “no deficiencies.” When performance targets are lame to begin with, as they are with the Act, we end up a long way from excellence.

We might get consistent results, but it's not assured. What is assured is that we will never get newer, bigger, better results. Consistent crap is crap all the same. The top ten percent of shit is shit. Why set your organization up for a whole lotta "average?" Hoping that it will lead to success or excellence is just foolish.

Sneak peek: Editorial board on animal experiments and facilities at UW

The Seattle PI has published yet another editorial piece regarding the animal experimentation at the UW, including their ongoing probation with their accrediting agency, and investigations and criticisms from governmental investigators.

The PI begins by addressing the President and The Regents of the UW. The piece goes on to talk about the billions of dollars (and yes that's billions with a B) that the university has in its coffers:

“Some degree of animal experimentation figures into grants involving $250 million or more. It was institutionally neglectful or worse to let some facilities become so derelict as to prompt replacement demands from the national accrediting organization." [emphasis added]

The board is not about to let the U get away with actions it apparently thinks are despicable. The language is strong - and rightfully so. See the full text here:
Animal Research: Make the Grade .

The Maven returns!

After a a long hiatus, I am ready to resume posting! Please watch for new material soon!

Notable quote...nothing to do with primates, per se, but great for Earth Day.

"Isn't man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife by the millions to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the
billions and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out cards praying for "Peace on Earth."

-- C. David Coates

Computers for primates

Computers for primates:

"Visitors get to watch the antics, and zoo officials hope that opening up the research will raise awareness of the world's rapidly diminishing orangutan population."

Hey, I've got an idea. How about if you want to raise awareness about the world's diminishing orangutan population, you make an educational program about threats to the wild population?

The notion that orangutans playing computer games has anything to do with natural behavior or conservation is utterly preposterous. Conservation education needs to be grounded in conservation topics. The spectacle of an ape playing with a computer does nothing to communicate urgency, let alone the details of the plight of wild orangutans. Quite the opposite.

The zoo's decision to spend money on tree-mounted computers communicates that when it comes right down to it and the zoo gets to choose priorities, exhibition is more important than in situ conservation.

Jaya - unlucky # 7

Reuters AlertNet - MADAGASCAR: Successive cyclones bring Madagascar to its knees

I cannot believe the cyclone season that Madagascar is sustaining this year. The human suffering is surely extensive. I haven't yet seen any estimates for tolls on the forests or fauna. I imagine it will be equally dreadful.

From the article:

"Tropical cyclone Jaya made landfall on Madagascar's northeastern coast today on a projected trajectory that will see it rage through areas already devastated by cyclone Indlala just over two weeks ago.

"This is the worst cyclone season in the recorded history of the country," Dusan Zupka, the Senior Emergency Coordination Officer assigned to Madagascar by the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA) in Geneva, told IRIN.

I suppose that the US will give something on the order of $1.50 and a shipment of used blankets. How sad.

Chicago Tribune: We must think of the primates

In conjunction with the recent "Mind of the Chimpanzee" conference held in Chicago, the Tribune ran a nice article about the mental and emotional lives of our closest great ape cousins. I wrote this Letter to the Editor (scroll down the page view) in response, noting:

Given everything we know about chimpanzees, is there any basis for assuming that involuntary confinement, social isolation, painful procedures and other violations of their interests imposed by people don’t register? The answer is "No."

One of the heart-warming stories in the original Tribune article ("Empathy for one's fellow chimp" 3/23/2007) was about Knuckles, a chimpanzee who has cerebral palsy. Despite the fact that he does not follow chimpanzee norms, Knuckles is accepted and shown an unusual kindness by others. Such behavior suggests empathy and a sophisticated understanding of the mind of "the other" on the part of fellow group members. To my way of thinking, their behavior indicates they understand clearly that Kunckles' needs and abilities differ from others.

New evidence of 'human' culture among primates

This is not the first evidence of cultural traditions or transmission among non-human primates, but it is another notable case study.

A note to the authors of the original source: It certainly seems that it's time to drop the "human" as a modifier for the word culture; putting it in quotes no longer suffices.

Dr Moura carried out his research in the Serra da Capivara National Park, in the Piaui state of north-east Brazil, during which he observed bouts of stone-banging, primarily among a group of 10 monkeys. As he approached, the monkeys would first search for a suitable loose stone, then hit it on a rock surface several times.

The act was apparently an aggressive one, directed at Dr Moura as a potential predator, but as the group became used to his presence in the area the stone-banging decreased. Furthermore, in a large minority of cases, adults and juvenile monkeys were seen banging the stones together without paying him any attention at all - suggesting that the younger monkeys were learning the skill from their more experienced elders. Captive monkeys released into the area that joined the study group also appeared to be learning to bang stones from the others.

Given the evidence and the apparent meaning of the stone-banging gestures, perhaps the next important consideration is whether we ought to heed the demand to leave the monkeys alone.


For full text of news announcement see: New evidence of 'human' culture among primates

Illegal Bushmeat Trade Thriving In Bay Area

A CBS report out of the Bay area indicates that the illegal bushmeat trade is thriving right here in American cities. Comments from public health officials and an ecologist from UC Berekeley suggest that there are serious risks for disease and for the extinction of wild animals because of the demand for bushmeat.

From the article:

U.C. Berkeley Wildlife Ecology Professor Justin Brashares says health is not the only issue. He's worried whole species are now in danger of extinction.

...

Brashares said his team of volunteers have seen markets openly selling the banned meat. The black market is especially lucrative in the Bay Area, including San Francisco and San Jose.

Brashares says anyone who wants it can find bushmeat. He once asked a taxi driver from Africa if he missed bushmeat.

For full story and video see CBS 5 link

Putting a face on animal suffering: Part II

Last time I wrote about Paul Slovic's work on human empathy in the face of mass suffering, I tried to generalize his findings about human suffering to that of other animals. What does a human bias to respond to the plight of one or two mean for activism? Do the reasons for the bias matter?

Even if we don't have a full understanding of the reasons for this human bias to respond to the plight of a few but not the plight of many, there is plenty of evidence for the existence of the bias and an implicit awareness of it. I think the advent of the "poster child" by certain charities may be a response to the bias - which I'm going to call the JustOne bias.

Is it that the suffering of one inspires action, or that the suffering of many discourages it? If people fail to respond to mass crises, like Darfur or the plight of so many hens in battery cages, could it be because they don't think they can make an impact? On the other hand, do we naturally have an easier time putting ourselves in the shoes or paws of just one being? Or do the numbers put us off? Do the same constraints on our cognition that make the size of the Earth or its population difficult to comprehend make the millions upon millions of animals imprisoned in laboratories hard to comprehend?

Each of these limits suggests a strategy for coping.

1. Help people appreciate that even small actions can help. I think the 34 million friends campaign is a good example of this. This grassroots campaign tells supporters explicitly that they are seeking a specific, small contribution. They also use concrete illustrations of the good that the collective donations can do. Other calls to action use similar strategies. "For the price of a cup of coffee you can XYZ..." It seems to me that microfinance operations embody this principle through their very existence.



2. Identify a "poster animal" who represents the issue. I think it's a fine idea to have that one poster animal as a representative for others who share his or her plight. I do this when I talk about the devastating legacy of maternal deprivation by sharing stories about one particular monkey who I knew personally - AB. Who is that individual? Does he or she have a story? The individual might be one who is doing well and the call is to keep it that way. It can also be an animal who is suffering and in need of help. People have visceral and emotional reactions to pictures and videos of a terrified animal or an animal in pain. The goal is to help people empathize, not to overwhelm.



3. Help people visualize and empathize with the experiences of an animal. One of my favorite examples of helping people identify with an animal is a brochure about the suffering of laying hens, which when unfolded displays text that remind readers that hens are kept in cages roughly the size of the paper in their hands. When I talk about the chair restraint commonly used with monkeys in laboratories, I use the analogy of an airplane seat on short flight and then ask others to imagine with me how that would feel if it lasted for days...or if it never ended. Granted, the coach seat is a cake walk by comparison, but since most people have experienced it at one itme or another, it's a place to start.



4. Facilitate the appreciation of scale. The best example of this that I have ever seen is the video version of "If the world were a village" at http://www.miniature-earth.com/. I've watched it many times, asked students to watch it for classes and know exactly why it won so many awards. Watching it once again now, after finding the link for this entry, I can say it still stirs my emotions.

Tom Regan speaks eloquently about how we can be affected by that one animal, and by the the suffering of the masses. It seems an important challenge, then, is finding the balance between the two. Given the JustOne bias, we have to be careful to address scale in ways that don't overwhelm or reverse the effect of the other approaches mentioned above.

For a brief summary of Slovic's recent research findings, see "How do we stop genocide when we begin to lose interest after the first victim?"

Sneak Peek: Wild rhesus monkeys taken in Nepal

Monkeys captured for vaccine research

The research center has taken permission from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) to capture 50 monkeys including five male, according to him.

The team has trapped 20 monkeys within three days from Bhutandevi area. Nine of them have been sent to Kathmandu, while the remaining are to be sent on Saturday, he said.

There are already 80 rhesus monkeys at the breeding center of the research center in Kathmandu, Khadka said. DNPWC is paid Rs 25,000 for each monkey captured and used for the research, he said.

Full text available at South Asian Media Net: Monkeys captured for vaccine research

Tip of the hat for a school north of the border

Dean @ York U speaks to students about animal rights and social justice
When I ask college students talk about their activism and advocacy on behalf of animals, I regularly hear stories about faculty who are disrespectful, combative, even openly hostile. I am troubled by such stories. But, despite my disappointment, most student activists remain undeterred; they can see beyond the bullying because they care so deeply about animals.

So imagine what a breath of fresh air it was to read about Dr. Joni Seager. Seager, a Dean at York University and a respected scholar on social justice and environmental issues, recently sat down with students to share her expertise and to talk about animal rights and activism. Tip of the hat to Dr. Seager.

“The foundations upon which systems of animal exploitation are based are being shaken and will continually be challenged as we gain a clearer picture of the inaccurate assumptions that support these systems,” Seager told the group. “There is a rich field of research waiting in animal rights, and I encourage you all to take up the issues that are meaningful to you and to help create positive change in our society.”

See the full article here: FES Dean Joni Seager highlights connections between animal rights and feminism