AP Photo/Thierry Charlier
DCL
Paul McCartney has joined the call for NASA to cancel plans to use monkeys in radiation experiments.
He's written a letter to NASA calling on the agency to not start irradiating monkeys for the first time in 20 years, a plan that has garnered opposition from comedian Bill Maher to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
PETA points out that McCartney is a well-known animal rights advocate, but he's also been an enthusiastic supporter of space exploration, has performed for a NASA space crew, and worked with the agency to beam Beatles music into space.
McCartney wrote in his letter: "I believe NASA has the ingenuity to investigate the health effects of space travel without confining and experimenting on animals as was done in the old days. It would be terribly disappointing if in our zeal to explore new frontiers and to learn about the fascinating universe where we live we began to regress in our treatment of the animals with whom we share this planet."
To join him in opposing NASA's plan to use monkeys in space, visit PCRM's or PETA's action page.
