Silver Spring monkeys

Not to be confused with feral monkeys in Silver Springs, Florida.
Silver Spring monkeys
Domitian, one of the Silver Spring monkeys, in one of the images distributed by PETA to newspapers[1]
DateMay 1981; 43 years ago (1981-05)
LocationInstitute for Behavioral Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
First reporterThe Washington Post
ParticipantsEdward Taub, Alex Pacheco, Ingrid Newkirk, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
OutcomeAdvance in research into neuroplasticity and the treatment of strokes; first police raid on a U.S. laboratory; first criminal conviction for animal cruelty of a U.S. researcher (overturned); introduction of the 1985 Animal Welfare Act; reported creation of the first Animal Liberation Front cell in North America
DeathsSeventeen macaque monkeys
ChargesEdward Taub charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty and six of failing to provide adequate veterinary care.
ConvictionsTaub convicted on six counts, overturned on appeal.

The Silver Spring monkeys were 17 wild-born macaque monkeys from the Philippines who were kept in the Institute for Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland.[2] From 1981 until 1991, they became what one writer called the most famous lab animals in history, as a result of a battle between animal researchers, animal advocates, politicians, and the courts over whether to use them in research or release them to a sanctuary. Within the scientific community, the monkeys became known for their use in experiments into neuroplasticity—the ability of the adult primate brain to reorganize itself.[3]

The monkeys had been used as research subjects by Edward Taub, a behavioral neuroscientist, who had cut afferent ganglia that supplied sensation to the brain from their arms, then used arm slings to restrain either the good or deafferented arm to train them to use the limbs they could not feel.[4] In May 1981, Alex Pacheco of the animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) began working undercover in the lab, and alerted police to what PETA viewed as unacceptable living conditions for the monkeys.[5] In what was the first police raid in the U.S. against an animal researcher, police entered the Institute and removed the monkeys, charging Taub with 17 counts of animal cruelty and failing to provide adequate veterinary care. He was convicted on six counts; five were overturned during a second trial, and the final conviction was overturned on appeal in 1983, when the court ruled that Maryland's animal cruelty legislation did not apply to federally funded laboratories.[2]

The ensuing battle over the monkeys' custody saw celebrities and politicians campaign for the monkeys' release, an amendment in 1985 to the Animal Welfare Act,[6] the transformation of PETA from a group of friends into a national movement, the creation of the first North American Animal Liberation Front cell, and the first animal research case to reach the United States Supreme Court.[7] In July 1991, PETA's application to the Supreme Court for custody was rejected. Days later, the last two monkeys were killed after veterinarians determined they were suffering and should be euthanized.[8]

During the subsequent dissection of the monkeys, it was discovered that significant cortical remapping had occurred, suggesting that being forced to use limbs with no sensory input had triggered changes in their brains' organization.[9] This evidence of the brain's plasticity helped overturn the widely held view that the adult brain cannot reorganize itself in response to its environment.[10]

  1. ^ Carbone, Larry. What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy. Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 75–76, see figure 4.2.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Carlson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Doidge, Norman. The Brain That Changes Itself. Viking Penguin, 2007, p. 136: Doidge calls them the most famous lab animals in history.
    • Blum, Deborah. The Monkey Wars. Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 106.
  4. ^ Doidge 2007, p. 141-2.
  5. ^ Pacheco, Alex and Francione, Anna. "The Silver Spring Monkeys" in Singer, Peter. In Defense of Animals. Basil Blackwell, 1985, pp. 135–147.
  6. ^ "Food Security Act of 1985. Part 2 Public Laws". Animal Welfare Act History Digital Collection. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  7. ^ Carlson 1991. Schwartz, Jeffrey and Begley, Sharon. The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. HarperCollins, 2002, p. 161.
    • Newkirk, Ingrid. Free the Animals. Lantern Books, 2000, p. xv, says the case triggered the formation of the first North American ALF cell.
  8. ^ "2 Lab Monkeys Killed After Top Court Acts". New York Times. Associated Press. 14 April 1991. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  9. ^ Leary, Warren E. "Renewal of Brain Is Found In Disputed Monkey Tests", The New York Times, June 28, 1991.
  10. ^ Schwartz and Begley 2002, pp. 160, 162.