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Chimps and monkeys in my lifetime evolved, in the public imagination) from smelly, vulgar clowns to intelligent, sensitive creatures who command respect and need protections. The new appreciation for chimps spawned
by 1960s television documentaries quickly raised the status of other primates, like rhesus monkeys and marmosets.. Riding this new respect for primates, animal rights activists exposed monkey mistreatment in two labs in the 1980s and stirred Congress to pass new welfare regulations. Dogs underscored the importance of letting lab animals run and play and cozy up to people, while rabbits personified the innocent animals we should protect. Monkeys and apes,
with their fierce intelligence, inspired a law to promote their psychological well-being. They set the example for environmental enrichment for all captive, caged animals. The word “enrichment” may suggest that the status quo is acceptable and that giving caged animals toys, friends, or novelty is an optional extra. I argue that the status quo is impoverished, and that both the quality of animal experiments and the quality of life of the animals improves when we re-set our standard of what is acceptable animal care in our laboratories.
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