1991-016

1991-016 was born on June 15, 1991 to Vervet # 1980-001. She recently turned twelve years old. She has a yellow “Y” on her body, which makes her stand out from the other vervets. She is also missing a thumb on her left hand and one-quarter of her tail, which is scarred with old wounds. She has been tattooed with the number 9116. This graceful, beautiful, and unique monkey will no doubt live her entire life in enclosure B11-Y at the Vervet Research Center (VRC), otherwise known as the UCLA-VA Vervet Monkey Research Colony in Sepulveda, California.

Lynn Fairbanks' experimental subjects

Vervet monkeys live naturally throughout southern, eastern, and western Africa; they prefer riverine woodlands. The monkeys at UCLA are descended from 54 wild-caught monkeys trapped between 1975 and 1987 from an introduced population on St. Kitts, West Indies.

A concerned Primate Freedom Tag wearer, through a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request, received medical records for 1991-016, which begin documenting her life in March of 1992 (one year old) and end on December 2001 (ten years old). At the last round up, she was 18 inches long and weighed 13 pounds. Read the request letters and documents she received here.

In her short twelve years, she has:

· Had blood taken from her femoral vein 17 times;

· Been tested for TB 10 times;

· Given birth 4 times;

· Been dewormed 3 times;

· Was wounded behind her left shoulder;

· Had a swollen right eye;

· Had cerebrospinal fluid taken every year.

About the Study:

1991-016 is an involuntary research subject in a study by Lynn Fairbanks (lfairbanks@mednet.ucla.edu). Lynn was awarded $1.25 million for a five-year study on the "Behavioral Genetics of Impulsivity." 1991-016 is one of 725 monkeys involved in this study, being paid for by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The National Institute of Mental Health is funded by taxpayer dollars.

In order to measure impulsivity, 1991-016 was tested in the Intruder Challenge test and the Novelty Challenge test at the age of 2 and 4, and then twice more as an adult. These tests are “used to measure impulsivity and other dimensions of temperament in response to a social stimulus. During an Intruder Challenge test session, all group members are locked into the indoor night-room except for a subgroup of 3-4 individuals of the same age-sex class that are left in the outdoor area of the home enclosure. An unfamiliar adult animal in an individual cage is placed adjacent to the outer chain link fence and the subjects’ responses are scored for 30 minutes.

“In the Novelty Challenge Test, subjects are removed from the home group and transferred to an individual cage in the testing room at the Vervet Research Center. They are presented with a series of three novel objects. . . within arms reach of the cage. Behavior is scored during stimulus presentation and control periods. At the end of the test session, subjects are anesthetized and a blood sample is collected to measure cortisol levels.”

“Following the Novelty Challenge blood sample collection, while the animal is still anesthetized, an activity meter. . . is attached to the animal’s identification collar . . . that records and stores data on movement. The animals wear the monitors in the home group for a two-week period.”

Comment:

Like every other monkey being held captive by a primate vivisector, 1991-016’s life is controlled by the whims of idle curiosity. Unlike threats in the wild, the yearly round up she endures is inescapable. The actions of the humans around her must seem odd and ever threatening.

Like every other vivisector using monkeys, Lynn Fairbanks must feel that any trivial bit of knowledge gleaned from her manipulations of these animals is ample justification for anything she might decide to do to them. We disagree.

Our hearts and thoughts are with 1991-016 and the other 725 vervets to whom Lynn Fairbanks has been given access.

Our deepest thanks to primate advocate Joy Kennedy for her compassion and persistence.