Brits rescue 88 research monkeys
Dozens of research monkeys used by a Chilean medical laboratory were sent to England following threats by an animal rights group.
Monkey World, a British primate rescue center, worked quickly to move 88 capuchins to its sanctuary after the lab in Santiago, Chile, received death threats from animal rights protesters, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
"This is the largest rescue Monkey World has ever undertaken in its history and the largest rescue of primates in the world ever," Dr. Alison Cronin, director of Monkey World, told the newspaper.
The Chilean air force aided in transporting the animals to England. They arrived at Bournemouth airport Tuesday night after Monkey World received special permission from the British government.
Because the monkeys spent their lives in solitary cages, Monkey World will need to rehabilitate them before they can be moved to the sanctuary's Capuchin Lodge.
"They are coming to us with lots of psychological and potentially medical problems," Cronin told The Guardian.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
