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For the first time in years, monkeys are set to become the subjects of NASA experiments. It's part of a $1.75 million project that NASA announced last year, saying the monkeys will be used to determine the health effects of radiation exposure during deep space travel.
That means taxpayer dollars could foot the bill for the injection of 30 squirrel monkeys with harmful doses of radiation.
Obviously, animal groups like PETA and HSUS are opposed to this, but they're not the only ones. Others with such common sense include legislators, led by Virginia Representative Jim Moran, who say the monkeys are likely to contract malignant tumors, blindness, skin damage, cognitive decline, premature aging and death—and they want the grant canceled.
NASA maintains that the experiments are necessary if humans are to travel to Mars, while Congressmen and animal groups point out that (and NASA agrees) that travel to Mars is not likely under NASA's current budget anyway. They also say the experiments will not only violate the Animal Welfare Act, but NASA's own animal ethics principles.
PETA points out, "modern in vitro and clinical research methods are available that can be used to study the effects of space radiation on the human body." Visit PETA's action site to stop NASA from resuming cruel experiments on monkeys.
