In 2006, Oxford University allowed cameras into its laboratory to film Felix, a monkey scheduled to undergo invasive surgery on his brain and a long succession of tests. We at PETA were deeply affected by the plight of this small, lonely animal in his cage, unaware of the horrors ahead. We campaigned for Felix to be released to a sanctuary we had found for him. We have now learned from Oxford that Felix is dead – killed routinely at the end of the experiments conducted on him. No television cameras were there.
Our campaign was about more than one monkey, however, and Felix's tormented life and premature death only inspire us to work even harder to prevent more animals suffering as he did.
Felix was used in a sequence of experiments lasting a year. He was trained to perform repetitive movements and then had electrodes surgically implanted in his brain. Following this, Felix was deliberately brain-damaged to create the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. After that, the effects on his brain and ability to move were measured in more tests, and then he was killed. For a year, this sensitive, bewildered animal was subjected to escalating abuses: deprivation, manipulation, invasive surgery, disability and eventually death. The official licence permitting this work allowed the highest level of suffering legally permitted in the UK – what is clinically called “substantial severity”.
Felix was born, lived and died in captivity. No aspect of his life was free from control and manipulation – from what he ate to his contact with others of his kind – until, eventually, even the workings of his body and brain were not his anymore.
Every year, more than 10,000 primates like Felix are caged in European laboratories. They face a litany of devastating experiments, including being poisoned, restrained, cut open, addicted to drugs, blinded, infected with HIV – or, like Felix, having their brains deliberately damaged.
It is too late to save Felix, but it isn't too late to save others. The European Union is reviewing its law on animal experiments right now. A recent motion in the European Parliament called for measures to end experiments on primates. After a sustained campaign by many organisations, including PETA, it was signed by a majority of MEPs on 6 September 2006. This was an inspiring demonstration of reason and compassion by politicians and a sign that campaigning pressure works. However, the new law has yet to come before the Parliament and we must make sure this success is translated into votes to save animals when it does. Felix's sad, lonely and needless death has to count for something. We must remember him as we work to help thousands like him.
You Can Help:
PETA is calling for a ban not just on experiments on non-human primates but on all experiments causing severe suffering. Please write to the Home Secretary to ask her to to back those measures in the European negotiations on the new law.
