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Video obtained by PETA of NIH researchers conducting maternal deprivation and other psychological studies on infant monkeys revealed such extreme abuse and terror that four members of Congress sent a strongly-worded letter to the NIH demanding an explanation.

Among the many heart-breaking video clips are a babies frantically attempting to awaken their sedated mothers, who appeared to be dead, and infant monkeys being subjected to loud noises while being held in the dark in what the researchers themselves describe as “pits of despair,” cages so small that the terrified monkeys cannot stand up.

NIH researchers terrorize infant monkeys in psychological experiments

In a fascinating interview with Justin Goodman, PETA’s Director of Laboratory Investigations, Jane Velez Mitchell shines a spotlight on the studies and the deception that has enabled NIH researchers to spend tens of millions of U.S. tax dollars on these experiments for over 30 years.

These infant monkey studies are funded through 2017, but circumstances have emerged which could bring them to an end before the money runs out. First, the NIH researchers will be unable to justify to Congress the continuation of this research, which after 30 years, haven’t yielded any information useful to human mental health. In fact, the researchers have already acknowledged that the tests are irrelevant to humans. As PETA’s Justin Goodman explains, the scientists have created a “cottage industry,” collecting millions of dollars from Congress year-after-year while remaining under the public radar. Secondly, video of the experiments, which are now in the public domain in spite of NIH’s efforts to keep them confidential, has triggered over 160,000 to take action.

Infant monkey attempts to awaken her mother during maternal deprivation study.

The NIH researchers who have taken tens of millions of U.S. tax dollars over the past 30 years to perform these useless and cruel experiments are being exposed for what they are — thieves and terrorists. Please speak up for these infant monkeys by demanding that NIH permanently discontinue these barbaric experiments.

In a major victory for animals, the U.S. military will stop using live animals for various military training purposes as of January 1st. The new policy, which was instituted as a result of many years of advocacy by PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), will eliminate some of the worst abuses, from cutting apart pigs to forcing tubes down live the throats of live cats and ferrets as a component of pediatric training. Wherever possible, lifelike human simulators will be used.

Human simulator

Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane Unchained interviews Justin Goodman, PETA’s Director of Laboratory Investigations, to learn more about the victory.

According to Mr. Goodman, “institutional inertia” and resistance to change in the military make this astonishing victory truly historic. But much change is still needed, as the government continues to use live animals to replicate battlefield trauma. While this has been reduced in recent years, PCRM estimated several years ago that the military shoots, blows up and dismembers at least 8,500 live goats, pigs and other animals each year in these training exercises.

On the bright side, the U.S. Secretary of Defense wrote in a letter to PETA that the Pentagon will work to identify ways to phase out this testing too. If the will is there, then that shouldn’t be too big a challenge, as studies show that those who learn trauma treatment on human simulators are better equipped to treat injured patients than those who are trained on live animals.

Studies show lifelike human simulators are more useful than live animals in trauma training

The use of any animals in military training begs the question as to why they have to pay the price for human warfare. If countries choose to attack each other, an activity unique to humans, then what right do we have to bring animals into it?

Please use PETA’s email action alert to ask U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security officials to replace animals in military trauma training with superior non-animal training methods.