Giant Leap Backward: Ask NASA to End Cruel Radiation Testing on Monkeys

PCRM has learned that NASA is funding space radiation studies that will use live monkeys as subjects. Please contact NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr., and ask him to put a stop to these cruel experiments.

The studies conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York will expose squirrel monkeys to repeated doses of radiation. Radiation experiments involving nonhuman primates commonly involve restraint and other cruel procedures. Monkeys, like other primates, are highly intelligent, have strong family bonds, demonstrate empathy, and, most importantly, suffer.

Genetic, physiological, and anatomical differences between humans and monkeys dramatically limit the conclusions that can be drawn from the planned studies. Ongoing studies, including those funded by NASA, already use nonanimal methods to determine the effects of low-dose radiation on human tissues.

Administrator Bolden is in a position to stop these inhumane and pointless experiments, but he needs to hear from you. Please call or e-mail his office today.