Monkey’s Mental Anguish From Lifetime in ‘Lockdown’ Revealed in New PETA Ad
For Immediate Release:
November 10, 2021
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Today, readers of the Wisconsin State Journal will learn that humans aren’t the only animals who have suffered as a result of lockdown, as PETA runs a full-page message condemning the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) for its treatment of Cornelius—a rhesus macaque who’s been trapped in lockdown, usually alone, for over 10 years. The action is the latest from the group since its graphic exposé of the facility.
PETA’s undercover investigators found Cornelius, known to experimenters only as #r10033, constantly hunched over or with his face pressed against the cage bars, which experts say are signs of mental anguish. He was separated from his mother as an infant and infected with the dengue virus when he was 4, and from the age of 5 until now—despite the social nature of macaques—Cornelius has mostly been caged alone. He’s just one of more than 2,000 monkeys confined small, barren steel cages for use in experiments or for breeding.
“Invasive experiments and near-constant solitary confinement have left Cornelius broken,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “Following 20 months of pandemic life, our society has become more attuned to the devastating mental-health effects of isolation, and PETA is alerting compassionate locals to cruel, taxpayer-funded experiments that keep our animal kin in lockdown.”
PETA notes that after 60 years, 16,000 dead monkeys, and $666 million in taxpayer funding, the WNPRC has produced zero cures for human diseases. The group asks that the University of Wisconsin–Madison release Cornelius and the other animals trapped at the WNPRC to a reputable sanctuary.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information on PETA’s newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
