4 ms·

America Is Facing a Monkey Shortage

25 points by kevmo 6y ago

2data222 6y ago
I worked at the California National Primate Research Center as a Student Assistant when I was at UC Davis. CNPRC is about a mile outside of town. Happy to answer any questions anyone has about the center. They had thousands (if not tens of thousands) of Rhesus Macaques from China and India there.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
  What kind of lives do these monkeys lead - is it enough for them to be happy, or miserable, or ok, or what?
  - 2data222 6y ago
    I worked with monkeys that lived outside in cages. The cages were probably 50'x20'x12' (LxWxH). There were hundreds of monkeys per cage. Veterinary students would be observing them often. I was told to not disturb them or interact with them in any way. That's quite impossible. They're keenly aware of where you, other people, and even where all the squirrels are at all times. They're mini- or pre-people, if you will. If you think your dog is smart, these animals are smarter. I wouldn't say they were abused or neglected but it is a sad twist of fate that these wild animals end up being cooped up in cages in the Davis heat, which is close to my personal definition of oppression. I honestly felt bad for them all the time and I did meaningless work for the center so I moved on.
itisit 6y ago
There's a wealth of primate resources suitable for lab testing available at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
tengbretson 6y ago
I don't think the problem is that theres a monkey shortage per se, but that 1% of people own nearly 100% of the monkeys.
- jermaustin1 6y ago
  > 1% of people own nearly 100% of the ______. That can be extrapolated into so many things regarding wealth inequality. Also it is sad, that there are so many monkeys "owned". These are wild animals, they haven't been domesticated over thousands of years, and likely will never be domesticated.
  - ruste 6y ago
    We've been domesticating certain types of monkeys since before the pyramids my guy. They're not common pets in the western world, but we have been keeping them as pets for thousands of years.
- Minor49er 6y ago
  Whether there is a Bonobocrat or Banana Republican involved, this unfortunately never seems to change.
  - liveoneggs 6y ago
    Recessican?
kevmo 6y ago
Time for Silver Springs, FL to shine: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/30/florida-monkeys-herpes-macaques https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/30/florida-...
antipaul 6y ago
Plenty of code monkeys around. Heck, did they count me?

25 points by kevmo 6y ago

I worked at the California National Primate Research Center as a Student Assistant when I was at UC Davis. CNPRC is about a mile outside of town. Happy to answer any questions anyone has about the center. They had thousands (if not tens of thousands) of Rhesus Macaques from China and India there.

throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
What kind of lives do these monkeys lead - is it enough for them to be happy, or miserable, or ok, or what?
- 2data222 6y ago
  I worked with monkeys that lived outside in cages. The cages were probably 50'x20'x12' (LxWxH). There were hundreds of monkeys per cage. Veterinary students would be observing them often. I was told to not disturb them or interact with them in any way. That's quite impossible. They're keenly aware of where you, other people, and even where all the squirrels are at all times. They're mini- or pre-people, if you will. If you think your dog is smart, these animals are smarter. I wouldn't say they were abused or neglected but it is a sad twist of fate that these wild animals end up being cooped up in cages in the Davis heat, which is close to my personal definition of oppression. I honestly felt bad for them all the time and I did meaningless work for the center so I moved on.

itisit 6y ago

There's a wealth of primate resources suitable for lab testing available at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

tengbretson 6y ago

I don't think the problem is that theres a monkey shortage per se, but that 1% of people own nearly 100% of the monkeys.

jermaustin1 6y ago
> 1% of people own nearly 100% of the ______. That can be extrapolated into so many things regarding wealth inequality. Also it is sad, that there are so many monkeys "owned". These are wild animals, they haven't been domesticated over thousands of years, and likely will never be domesticated.
- ruste 6y ago
  We've been domesticating certain types of monkeys since before the pyramids my guy. They're not common pets in the western world, but we have been keeping them as pets for thousands of years.
Minor49er 6y ago
Whether there is a Bonobocrat or Banana Republican involved, this unfortunately never seems to change.
- liveoneggs 6y ago
  Recessican?

kevmo 6y ago

Time for Silver Springs, FL to shine: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/30/florida-monkeys-herpes-macaques https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/30/florida-...

antipaul 6y ago

Plenty of code monkeys around. Heck, did they count me?