Open Cages, Naming Names

Disturbing evidence has recently been revealed, as briefly outlined here.

Last September she published a disturbing article wherein she describes horrific testing she performs on primates, where she takes infants away from their mothers and gives the mothers toys in place of their babies to see how they react. This is obviously intended to cause them to suffer, thereby alleging to study what depriving the mother-child bond would is like.

The end-result? Here are her own words:

“Although there is no way of knowing the extent to which these observations bear on human maternal bonding, or on other kinds of bonding….”

Absurd & cruel to say the least. Not only unethical, but these “studies” produce no concrete conclusions, are unnecessary, outdated and the result of a sick individual.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

(More information about her and Harvard after action items.)

Please contact the USDA and urge them to further investigate Harvard Medical School and follow-up on their citations:

animalcare@usda.gov

816-737-4200, 919-855-7100, 970-494-7478, 301-851-3751

Contact Harvard Medical School and demand they fire Margaret Livingstone:

Lisa Muto: 617-432-2445 – lisa_muto@hms.harvard.edu

Contact Margaret Livingstone and tell her what you think of her:

617-432-1664 – Margaret_Livingstone@hms.harvard.edu

Photos she took of the poor monkeys in her lab after she ripped their babies away.

These experiments of hers, funded by taxpayers (NIH grants) should never have been approved. Livingstone should have her medical license revoked, and Harvard should fire her.

As if that was not enough, Margaret also admits that her depraved studies lie beyond her own scientific discipline:

“I actually don’t study animal behavior. The main thrust of my lab is studying vision, in particular the inferior temporal cortex of the brain, which is a region important for object recognition… Our monkeys are socially housed and sometimes get pregnant. Over 10 years, I made a series of unexpected, incidental observations about how monkey mothers form attachments to their infants. This paper is the result of these observations.” (https://hms.harvard.edu/news/mothers-love)

Not only is this scientifically irresponsible, but incredibly shocking that she and Harvard Medical School would allow the monkeys to accidentally get pregnant in the lab. Not to mention the wastefulness of spending years of time and money paid by us, the taxpayers, through NIH grants, for Livingstone’s own curiosity.

Once this “study” was released, a signed by over 250 scientists called for a retraction.
“We cannot ask monkeys for consent, but we can stop using, publishing, and in this case actively promoting cruel methods that knowingly cause extreme distress,” wrote Catherine Hobaiter, a primatologist at the University of St. Andrews, who co-authored the retraction letter.

“We ask that PNAS retract Professor Livingstone’s article “Triggers for Mother Love” due to the unethical practices and research standards it promotes and its failure to advance scientific knowledge.”

“As a group of scientists, including primatologists with more than 100 years of cumulative research experience with both wild and captive primates, we believe the time for this unethical treatment of nonhuman animals for research is over.”

“Many of these same studies, uncritically presented by Livingstone, have been condemned by philosophers for decades due to their unethical treatment of animals and lack of contribution to scientific knowledge (Singer, 1975).”

“We understand that this study exploited the permanent separation of mothers and infants undertaken for a separate study. We feel strongly that there is no lesser obligation to consider the ethical impact of our work when it is derived from pre-existing data or opportunities. We were disturbed to discover that in 2022 a university ethics committee approved any experiments that required isolation of pregnant mothers and maternal separation so soon after birth.” (See letter to PNAS signed by 250 scientists including primatologists)

Not only did Livingstone just conduct this horribly abusive “study” that produced no results, but in the recent past, she took pleasure in sewing baby monkey’s eyes shut to “study” other things. However, as she herself admits, she doesn’t study animal behavior……

Sadly, as is per usual, just as in the case with Envigo, the USDA is not doing its job.

We see several violations that the USDA has noted with no repercussions:

March 14, 2021: An investigator at the lab leaves a divider open allowing for two female monkeys to engage throughout the night which causes fighting and severe lacerations, scratches, bruising, and other resulting injuries to both feet and non-weight-bearing lameness on one leg requiring daily veterinary care. (See report: #3 and #4).

October 15, 2021: Harvard receives a letter from OLAW for the following noncompliance items.

1. General failure to adhere to institutional policies and procedures.
2. Use of expired analgesics.
3. Failure to adhere to the IACUC-approved protocol and the conduct of animal- related activities without prior IACUC review and approval.

This included but was not limited to: no secondary methods of euthanasia as required and off-protocol procedures for cardiac punctures, blood-draws and non-survival surgeries. (See report: #1)

Harvard Medicine states its mission very clearly on its website:

“To nurture a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to alleviating suffering and improving health and well-being for all through excellence in teaching and learning, discovery and scholarship, and service and leadership.”

It also states:

“Integrity & Accountability

• We conduct our work honestly and ethically.
• We lead responsibly, hold ourselves accountable and empathetically share constructive feedback.
• We speak up and empower others to do the same.”

We are doing so, we are speaking up, along with the research community, who has done so, that you are, and have been, acting unethically, and this needs to stop now.

In Harvard’s 2021 Annual USDA report it had 48 non-human primates in Column “D”, which is the “number of animals upon which experiments, teaching, research, surgery or tests were conducted involving accompanying pain or distress to the animals and for which appropriate anesthetics, analgesics, or tranquilizing drugs were used.” (See report: #2)

On its face this is not right, but based on Harvard’s 2021 history of reports it certainly cannot be trusted that these animals had been given any pain alleviating drugs that were not expired, given appropriately, or given at all.

These animals deserve better.

Kari Bagnall, Founder & Executive Director of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary stated, “As a former Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children we know all too well how maternal deprivation affects children. Since the early 1940s we have learned that children should experience a continuous relationship with their mothers or they may have significant and irreversible mental health consequences.

As the founder of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary I have witnessed the effects of baby monkeys stolen from their mothers and raised by humans. The monkeys have similar stereotypical behaviors as the children I worked with — self grasping, rocking, and digit sucking to sooth themselves, which could elevate to self-harm and mutilation. The children I worked with would cut themselves with knives, whereas the monkeys would self-attack, some to the point of biting off digits.”

Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California, Craig Stanford emphatically stated, “Studies such as those by Livingstone very rarely produce results that could not have been achieved without the abuse of laboratory monkeys. They are medically unnecessary. And they are a shameful and inexcusable act of animal abuse that nearly all researchers would abhor.”

Earlier this month, the royal couple visited BFP to adopt a pup! The Duchess expressed that she’s long supported BFP and wanted to give a loving home to an Envigo survivor, preferably an older dog in need. After playing with sweet Momma Mia, they knew she was the one! Click below to read all about it in the Los Angeles Times.

Mia spent her entire life in a cage at Envigo, being forced to breed litter after litter for laboratories. Her puppies were destined for the same fate or to be sent to research facilities as test subjects. Mia is now a senior who will need medical care for arthritis and a mass under her chin. But we’re so happy that she is finally free to be a dog, and her sweet puppies will never have to set foot inside a lab!

This family of 9 came from a crowded shelter that reached out for assistance through BFP’s Shelter Safeguard program, which helps shelters rehome lab testing survivors. Unfortunately, as Envigo’s 4,000 beagles continue to be dispersed to shelters across the country, a tragic trickle-down effect is occurring in which other adoptable dogs are being killed to make room. This is yet another reason animal testing must end! BFP encourages any shelter in this difficult position to reach out for support.

Shelters and adopters can also download our Envigo Care Guide for expert advice on caring for these special-needs animals.

Donate to help us care for more families to come!