People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has found papers about a new study that will use animals and is now pleading with the National Institute of Health (NIH) to stop it.
PETA is pleading with the NIH and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to stop a planned study that they say is “cruel and horrific.” The study, which will be done at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will be used to study cognitive decline. Small monkeys called marmosets will be put on a sleep plan that isn’t working right for them.
PETA wrote in an email to FOX News, “As the governor of the state with the largest number of older Americans, DeSantis is in a unique position to condemn — before they begin — planned ‘ageing’ experiments on tiny marmoset monkeys,”
“Keeping a monkey from sleeping, which is a form of torture in humans that can lead to death, won’t make people with insomnia feel the same way.” “This proposed experiment is so cruel that the university has labelled it as a ‘Column E’ study, which means it causes distress and pain with no relief,” the PETA member wrote.
The email went on to say that a “blaring loud noise” would wake the marmosets up every 15 minutes during the night. PETA said they got these papers that gave them this information.
The study will be led by Agnes Lacruese, a professor at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. It will take place at the Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
In a second email, PETA said that these tests were cruel and barbaric. In addition, they said that doing these tests wouldn’t help science or people in any way. They’ve asked the NIH to think about cutting funding for the project and giving money to other, more useful ones instead.
In reaction, Michelle Ciucci, who is in charge of the Animal Program, came out to defend the experiment and explain why it was important. When pushed back, she said, “Researchers must use animals to mimic complex human biology to better understand and fight human diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
She said that the main goal of the study was to find new ways to look into Alzheimer’s. She also said that these monkeys are being used because their brains are so much like human minds.
