This is just sick. Someone forgot to turn off the heater? Really?
There were alarms linked to the temperature, but by the time the heat was turned off 31 of the monkeys were dead and 2 had to be put down afterwards.
In a research lab you would think they would have a fail safe in place to ensure something like this doesn't happen.
It makes me wonder if they just don't care if anything bad happens to the monkeys.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Actually they do, more than you more than likely. They can't do their research without them, not to mention that any of the studies that were under way have now been compromised. I wouldn't be surprised if this cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even more.
Costly mistake for more than one reason, to be sure.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
It should also be pointed out that this was one lab out of thousands in the United States that use primate subjects. If you compare the rate of tragic accidents involving lab animals to, say, the rate of tragic accidents that happen on your average highway (or workplace, or apartment building, or farm...), I think you'll find that the research labs on average compare quite favorably.
It's also rather disingenuous for Fox News to refer to what happened as a "slaughter," considering that there was absolutely no intent to kill the monkeys involved. It's an accident, a bad one, and the person whose negligence led to the monkeys' deaths should (and probably will be) fired, but it's not like they went after the monkeys with a machete. It's no more a "slaughter" than when a Toyota Camry's accelerator sticks and the resulting accident happens to claim ten lives.
Posted by swbarnes2 (Member # 10225) on :
Geraine, those 3 dozen monkeys died pointlessly so you could learn something about loss, love, and longing.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by swbarnes2: Geraine, those 3 dozen monkeys died pointlessly so you could learn something about loss, love, and longing.
Hanuman works in mysterious ways.
Posted by Geraine (Member # 9913) on :
quote:Originally posted by swbarnes2: Geraine, those 3 dozen monkeys died pointlessly so you could learn something about loss, love, and longing.
This was not needed. You know nothing about what I love, long for, and have lost, so I would appreciate it if you kindly quit with the personal jabs. Last time I checked this was a forum for discussing topics, not an elementary school playground.
Of course if you meant something different than the way I am reading it, by all means let me know and I will apologize to you.
Whether it was a research lab or not, there are precautions that need to be made to ensure the safety of the animals. I suppose one could argue that the primates are better off dead than being experimented on. This was caused by someone not doing their job. I know it wasn't a slaughter (and Fox news should not have reported it as such) but that doesn't change the fact that 33 primates were cooked to death needlessly.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
So, in the two years since this incident, no new accidents have occurred. Someone was fired and another person reprimanded. Alarms went off immediately, but some idiot ignored them (probably idiot that was fired). It was a tragedy, but I am not sure that from this incident I would be advocating changes. The other, somewhat more minor, incidents (fingers amputated) because those seem more likely the result of insufficient training, which is usually a company wide problem rather than just an isolated idiot screwing up problem.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well said.
Posted by Geraine (Member # 9913) on :
quote:Originally posted by scholarette: It was a tragedy, but I am not sure that from this incident I would be advocating changes.
I'm not suggesting a change in regulation or anything of the sort. But a change in the quality of their climate control system would be a good thing.