Harvard University's Cruel Monkey Experiment... Primatologists Criticize as "Unethical"

Providing a Stuffed Toy to a Newly Delivered Mother Monkey, Suturing Eyelids of Infant Monkey
250 Animal Behaviorists and Primatologists Send Letter Requesting Retraction of Paper

[Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Primate researchers are criticizing a study on monkeys conducted by a research team at Harvard University in the United States as unethical.

Recently, the French daily Le Monde reported that unethical experiments involving monkeys were conducted in the laboratory of Professor Margaret Livingstone, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. The results of this experiment were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in September.

In this laboratory, experiments were conducted where newborn mother monkeys were separated from their infants and given stuffed dolls. This experiment aimed to determine whether mother monkeys develop attachment to inanimate objects. The results showed that monkeys deprived of their infants developed attachment to objects with a soft texture, even if they were inanimate. The research team had previously conducted experiments where the eyelids of infant monkeys were sewn shut, leaving them blind for a year to track changes in the optic nerve.

Among scholars, there has been a flood of criticism that this research team violated research ethics. A group of 250 scientists, mainly animal behaviorists and primatologists, sent a letter to PNAS on the 17th requesting the retraction of the paper, stating that Professor Livingstone’s experiments were conducted in an unethical manner. Professor Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said, "Since the 1960s, we have known very well that experiments relying on maternal separation are extremely dangerous," adding, "There are better ways to conduct these experiments."

The animal protection organization PETA also pointed out the cruelty of the experiments and urged the cessation of animal testing. PETA stated, "Professor Livingstone stole healthy infants from mother monkeys and caused blindness," demanding, "Harvard University should permanently shut down this horrific laboratory." According to PETA, over 100 million animals suffer from experiments annually in the United States.

However, Harvard University defended the research team, stating, "There is concern about personal attacks on scientists conducting research for the benefit of humanity." They explained that the maternal attachment experiment helps in understanding human maternal bonds and can identify interventions necessary for psychological recovery in women who have experienced miscarriage or stillbirth. The monkey blindness experiment also provided important information on visual impairment and brain development and played a crucial role in developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and brain cancer.

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