An entire troop of monkeys housed at a NASA facility was killed instead of being sent to a sanctuary, and a New York lawmaker is demanding to know why, according to a report Tuesday.
On February 27, 2019, the 27 primates of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, received lethal doses of drugs to euthanize them.
The monkeys were aging and 21 had Parkinson’s disease, the Guardian said, citing documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) said she sent a letter to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine asking him to justify the killing.
“I look forward to an explanation from Administrator Bridenstine as to why these animals were forced to be wasted in captivity and euthanized instead of living their lives in a sanctuary,” Rice told the Guardian.
Animal rights advocates were also outraged by the shocking revelation.
John Gluck, an animal ethics expert at New Mexico University, said the monkeys “apparently did not consider themselves worthy of an opportunity to live in a sanctuary.”
“Elimination instead of an expression of simple decency. Shame on those responsible, ”he said.
Mike Ryan, of Rise for Animals, a nonprofit group that obtained the documents, said the monkeys were treated as “tragic later thoughts.”
“NASA has a lot of strengths, but when it comes to animal welfare practices they are obsolete,” he added.
NASA used chimpanzees and other primates to test its Mercury space capsule and launched a famous three-year-old chimpanzee named Ham into space in 1961.
But the monkeys killed last year were part of a joint care agreement with LifeSource BioMedical, a pharmaceutical company that rents space at the Ames Research Center, the Guardian said.
LifeSource CEO Stephanie Solis told the Guardian that the company received the children “years ago” because their age and poor health prevented them from being placed in a sanctuary.
Solis also said the monkeys had not been subjected to research experiments since.
“We agreed to accept the animals, acting as a sanctuary and providing all care at our own expense, until their advanced age and diminished health resulted in a decision of human euthanasia to avoid a poor quality of life. “Solis said.
A NASA spokesman did not immediately return any requests for comment.